Twin Perspectives
by STRIKESTWICE
Summary: Ever wonder what the Slayers kids would be like... read on.
1. Eps 1: Huh?

Twin Perspectives: Chapter 1 All characters belong to their perspective owners no ownership is claimed for   
non-original characters. 

Special thanks go to Davner, Cavis, and Fish_Stomp for their help on this fic. 

Twin Perspectives 

Eps 1: Huh? 

By: STRIKESTWICE@hotmail.com 

Basvic was situated perfectly near the border of the old world and the new. Its 

position had made it a center for trading caravans, as the two formerly separated lands 

were once again connected in what was becoming a prosperous union. The mid sized 

town had turned into a sprawling city state in these last twenty years of trade. The arid 

almost desert land surrounding it slowly changed to that of green fields as priestesses and 

mages created springs of fresh water in the surrounding area, to try to feed the ever 

growing population. 

If you were to walk down the streets of Basvic through the gates that stood 

perennially open, past the streets filled with inns and bars that catered to the various 

caravans as they passed through. Take a right at the square with the water fountain 

depicting a golden dragon and proceed down the smaller merchants street you would 

arrive at "The Lady's Collectibles and Gun Store." The large and well kept windows that 

faced out onto the street allowing in a vast amount of light to the interior. Open the 

wooden door and inside, much larger then the outside appearance would suggest, would 

be rows upon rows of collectibles. Magical artifacts, created by people long since 

forgotten, vases and urns in various hues, companionably sitting next to books and 

scrolls, even in the piles of odd items dust or dirt could not be found. For the Lady Filia, 

who owned the shop, saw to it that such things that would affront her very delicate 

upbringing never existed for long. A woman of very refined upbringings, it was said that 

she never aged as that would offend her. 

A little farther into the shop down a path way that might disappear into the 

clutter, through an arch and you would enter an entirely different type of store. This one 

selling, in very small amounts, the best gun powder in all of Basvic. Guns, and rifles, the 

newest most modern design in all the old world guaranteed, all created by a small red 

foxman. But heaven help the person who tried to buy any of these items with evil 

intentions in their heart. For Jared the Fox, only sold to those he liked and his guns, and 

gunpowder, were in such demand that he could pick and choose his customers. 

It was not unusual though for travelers to cross the great desert for the express 

purpose of visiting this shop for one reason or another. Some to buy, but perhaps the 

shops main attraction was not its wares but the other odd inhabitants. Because the shop 

boasted its own pair of miniature pet dragons one white as snow and the other black as 

night. These two miniature dragons would carefully rest somewhere in the sun as part of 

the mounds of collectibles. Those not familiar with the reputation of the shop would 

think them just another piece for sale until they got to close and then see an eye slit 

slowly open starring at the person who had dared to intrude into their personal space. 

Then in a flash both would disappear burrowing through tunnels of items for sale, into 

crevasses only they knew, and reappear at the counter to perch on the low stand that was 

reserved for them. 

Perhaps the least remarkable thing of "The Lady's Collectibles and Gun Store" 

was the daughter of Lady Filia. With hair a dark black, until it was touched by sunlight 

where a hint of gold suddenly seemed to appear at the edges, as if aglow with an internal 

light, dark brown eyes to match the hair, she seemed like a completely normal girl of 

maybe fourteen or fifteen years. But for those few travelers who listened a little more 

closely to the local gossip, they would be rewarded with the knowledge that she was now 

in her twentieth year. Like her mother she was slowly starting to stop aging. But the 

Lady Filia was too respected for anything but the most vague of gossip to reach her. Her 

daughter though while cheerful and outgoing was unable to remove herself from being 

the subject of gossip. 

All of these things added up to make the store a tourist attraction and one of the 

most profitable businesses in all of the growing town of Basvic. 

To the two travelers who made their way down its streets, foot worn and dirty 

from the dust of the desert. Pausing only a second at the fountain for some cool water 

before continuing on their course to the shop. The one slightly in front of the other was 

obviously a man, dressed in black armor with numerous spikes, and a large decal of a 

skull stenciled onto the front of his breast plate. His golden red hair and complexion had 

not helped him in the desert sun and he had turned a bright red from the heat with 

sunburns piled on sunburns. The armor made of solid iron had rather then protected him 

from the sun, instead acted in the opposite way boiling him from the inside out. On his 

hip sat a short sword seeming in contrast to the large amount of armor he wore. 

Behind him, a small girl walked wearing loose fitting pants and a comfortable 

brown shirt, looking like a thousand other peasants even to the small dagger she carried 

on her left side. A small almost invisible scar trailed from her left eye oddly formed in 

the shape of a tear. The expression of annoyance that seemed to cover her face at being 

forced to follow the large man was easily understood by anyone who got down wind of 

him. She swiped her long green hair, carefully tied with a brilliantly white bow, with her 

left hand and hurried to catch up with the man. 

They both entered the shop with the air of having been there before. Eyes 

roaming over the goods with little interest as they walked into the store, as if they were 

accustomed to being surrounded by curiosities from a hundred lands. Behind and below 

the counter someone rustled through the junk thought too valuable to be displayed with 

the rest of the items for sale. The two travelers turned as one towards this person and 

waited. 

*** 

Senritsuko was trying to sort out the mess Black and White had made of the 

emeralds from the Frige Rain Forest Area. For some reason only known to the two little 

dragons, the green sparkling seemed to call to them in an irresistible way. Senritsuko had 

tried locking them up, hiding them, putting the emeralds in a safe place, and even 

scolding the dragons. All it accomplished was a tongue lashing from her mother about 

displaying the merchandise and a new mess every morning. When someone walked into 

the store. 

She grumbled to herself, as she finally got the display right, when a terrible stench 

reached her nose. Unlikely her mother, she was less then the refined lady, but still 

something smelled like it had been a week out in the sun. That meant that she was going 

to have to light some of the precious incense shipped all the way from the Norwagan 

Region. Whoever it was had better buy something. 

The girl stood up and almost ran into the two heads peering down at her. She 

took a step back in fright as the carefully arrayed tray of emeralds spilled its goods, 

throwing precious stones tumbling down behind the counter. 

"Hey, sorry to startle you!" The man yelled at the top of his voice. The woman 

with him glared, then offered her hand to Senritsuko. 

"Hi, cos' lon' time no see." She glared at her companion again and easily lifted 

the fallen woman off of the floor. "See's you up to the sam' old thin'. Me and bro were 

wonder'en if you be wanten to join us on a little trip to New Sairag to see Aunty." 

Senritsuko paused deciphering the comment for a second as she stared at her cousins. 

Well not actually her real cousins, as far as she knew the only real family she had was her 

mother, but her adopted family more then made up for it. The first thought that leapt into 

her mind was that maybe if she ignored them they would go away. The two seemed to 

take on the general personality, she paused trying to phrase it politely and then gave up, 

distinctions of their parents. That of being completely immune to the word "can't." It 

seemed to just be permanently removed entirely from the Gabrieve family tree. 

Yuki, the older twin by a few minutes, and yes they were twins even if they 

looked nothing alike, stared back at Senritsuko with that puppy dog look that seemed to 

always get her whatever she wanted. Meanwhile, Valeck had begun toying with one of 

the displays his large armor and numerous, pointless spikes forcing him to very carefully 

dodge one item to look at another, a display of extreme flexibility destined to failure as 

yet another display went crashing onto the floor. They were always like this, a pair of 

destruction that only needed to be focused... focused Senritsuko suddenly got a bad 

feeling. 

"What did you two do now?" 

Yuki's puppy dog expression fell even more into complete and utter despair. 

"Nothin', just had a miss-understandin'." She turned the full force of that expression on 

Senritsuko. 

"You didn't blow up another town, did you?" 

"That was an accident, and it wasn't an entire town just the harbor." Valeck 

yelled too defensively, "and no we didn't blow up a town, we sort of lost something." 

Senritsuko sighed and began boiling some tea. Whenever these two tried to 

explain their reason for random destruction it was best just to sit down in a comfortable 

spot, preferably with a cup of tea, a trait she had inherited from her mother, and listen to 

their tale of woe. She turned around and looked expectantly at the twins. 

"Well, you see, there was 'is t'oll prob." Yuki started to explain. 

"Hold on what is a t'oll, like a bridge tax?" 

"No, a troll problem. Sis let me explain please or talk normally." Yuki got a 

stubborn look in her eyes but passed the conversation to her brother. 

"As my sis was sayin' there was a troll problem locally and Ma and Pa had gone 

off on another second honeymoon, again." Senritsuko doubted that anyone else would 

call the two old adventures looking for trouble a honeymoon, but she let it slip. "So I 

took it upon myself to remove these pests from the locality. I set out to find their lair 

using directions from the scared farmers." Behind Valeck his sister was coughing 

politely. "Oh, and sis accompanied me." 

"Gee 'hanks for 'memberin' me." 

"So any ways after fighting through two bands of random brigands, you ever 

notice how they just seem to appear out of the woodwork whenever I go adventuring. I 

arrived at the troll cave and after a few battles we finally faced the trolls. Ugly lot they 

were, but I was more then a match for them with my sword skills alone I took out all the 

lesser trolls until it was just me and my..." Valeck slumped onto the floor completely 

knocked out by the heavy blow to his head from his sister from the back of her dagger. 

"As my bro' was a sayin', WE had killed off the lesser t'olls and we'er facin' the 

head t'oll. I fired off a flare arrow at it as he began castin' a go'em 'ell. To keep the 

thin' distracted I charged forward tryin' to keep it off balan' as bro' finished the 'ell. So 

lon' story short the go'em wiped the ground with it." 

Senritsuko sipped on her tea. The pot having long since boiled by the time it took 

them to do finish the story. "So what does that have to do with you to losing 

something?" 

"Oh, why we we're gone someon' broke into the man'ion and stoll the cryst-il 

sw'rd we's were suppose to guard." Yuki smiled charmingly at Senritsuko. "Anywise 

we were hoppin' you might join us, or let us crash here tonight." Senritsuko continued 

sipping on her tea gazing at her younger cousin. She had been thinking about visiting 

Aunty Sylphiel and Phelan in Searag 4, but having to put up with the Gabriev twins for 

the two week trip would be the closest thing she knew to pure torture and Valeck was 

right, trouble did seem to find the two of them or they went searching for it. She was 

never sure which was the proper order, but she had to admit that it would be fun. Not to 

mention that a sort of longing had been gripping her for the last two months, she wanted 

to leave Basvic more then she could admit to her mother. She was tired of people 

pointing at her when she went shopping or people coming into the store to gack at her. It 

would be nice to get away if even for a month to somewhere where she wasn't known, 

just another face in the mass. 

"I guess, it couldn't hurt to accompany you to Searag 4." She sipped on her tea. 

"What makes you think the sword is there?" 

Yuki grinned, "we don't know where the sword is that's why we thought we 

shoul' visit Aunt Sylphiel and ask her to do a fortun' tellin' for us." Senritsuko sighed, 

she had been wrong two weeks with these two would be two weeks too long. 

*** 

A light knock on Senritsuko's wooden door before it opened revealing the old 

grayish red fox smiling slightly at her. 

"Your leaving tomorrow?" He asked quietly. 

"For a week or two, just to see aunt Syphiel and Phelan." She smiled wondering 

how Phelan was doing, it had been a few years since the last time she had seen the young 

sorcerer. 

The old fox smiled back at her. "Everyone goes on a journey in their life. I felt 

that your time was close. I think your mother felt the same way, that's why she had me 

make this for you. It was supposed to be given to you on your twenty-first birthday, but a 

month early isn't going to hurt." 

He handed her a red rosewood box bearing the twin black and white dragons on 

the cover. She cautiously opened the box revealing one of the new revolvers. 

A masterpiece of craftsmanship, the gun glistened gold from the orihalcon plating 

on the steel barrel. Runes of protection snaked down the sides of the weapon to the ivory 

hilt that was inlaid with a white dragon on the side that was displayed. Senritsuko 

removed the gun reverently turning it over to see the black dragon inlayed on the other 

side of the grip. She opened the gun and stared at the pristine six slots and then checked 

the barrel with a familiarity of someone who had run a gun store. 

She put the gun back into the case and carefully closed the lid. Astounded by the 

sure value of the gift. A prince couldn't have afforded such a valuable weapon. The 

orihalcon alone was worth a thousand times it's weight in gold. 

Jared gave her the roguish grin once again. "And these are from me." He handed 

her two red bullets, each warm to the touch. Then handed her two ice blue bullets, both 

with just a slight chill. Finally, as if he was presenting her with a truly amazing prize, 

handed her a bullet that was enclosed in glass with a red ribbon inscribed with gryphs of 

warding surrounding the little glass case in a cross of red. 

"Does my mother..." He smiled at her and waved a finger. 

"Some things are better off not knowing." 

"Mom, always says the same thing when I ask about dad." Senritsuko said, her 

eyes unfocusing. "Tell me about him." 

"He died in the disaster of New Sairag." The fox had become distant as well. "I 

barely knew him but he was a powerful priest." 

"I know all that tell me, what was he liked." 

Jared paused, "I'll leave that up to your mom." 

Senritsuko fixed him with a stare she had learned from experience. The same 

stare her mother had used on her too many times. "Why won't anyone tell me! What did 

he do that was so bad." Tears started to fall from her eyes. "Am I cursed because of his 

blood." 

"Senritsuko don't." 

"Just get out!" She pushed the man outside of her room with a strength that 

seemed impossible for her little frame and slammed the door wiping tears with both 

hands. 

"Senritsuko you are yourself don't let any one ever say otherwise." He gazed at 

the door for a second and then whispered. "If only I could have been your father in your 

eyes." 

*** 

She woke up, blurry eyed to the new day. Half formed fears and nightmares 

unremebered had kept her awake the majority of the night as thoughts rushed through her 

mind before she had a chance to even consciously think about them. they were gone. 

She slowly began preparing herself for the journey. Putting on her traveling 

clothes, a pair of wool britches, a comfortable white cotton blouse, and a black vest that 

matched perfectly with her dark hair. Last she slung the holster around her waist, on the 

left side, and secured the little clip at its base to stop the weapon from flapping when she 

walked. 

The weight felt perfect as if she had been missing a part of herself. It had been a 

few months since she had used a gun and it felt nice just to have one again, especially her 

own. She smiled at herself in the mirror admiring the picture presented to her. The 

white ivory hilt pointing away with the dark side just a hands width away from touching 

her. She tossed a sheet over the mirror and wondered when the next time she would 

return home would be. 

She finally left the room making sure that everything was in its proper place. Her 

mother could never stand a disorderly room. She plastered a smile on her face and 

walked into the kitchen to see the two sets of twins devouring a large breakfast. The twin 

dragons where cheerfully fighting over a large chunk of meat that Jared had given them. 

He was casually watching the other set of twins as they fought just as hard over a pile of 

pancakes. 

The girl sat down at the table and poured herself a cup of tea. Wondering if 

something's ever changed. 

Jared looked up at her as she sat down, cautiously as if he expected her to still be 

angry. Instead she smiled at him and he let out a relieved sigh and smiled back. She 

still felt a little uneasy, like something was turning in her stomach, about the 

conversation from last night but she wouldn't allow him to believe that they had left on a 

bad footing. Failing to taste the food or the tea she slowly and delicately ate her meal 

still feeling a little uneasy about something. She always felt this way about going to 

Sairag 4, some memory, forgotten, but still warning her to stay away, something about 

her father. 

*** 

"I still don't understand, why can't we ride to Sairag?" Senritsuko said, adjusting 

her pack for the last time. For some reason neither one of the twins had mentioned that 

they would be walking the entire way to the city. Basvic had already fallen behind them 

hours ago and they had finally left the desert for the mountains and trees. 

"Tradition," Yuki told her. 

"I thought it was because Aunt Lina was scared of them." 

"Mom's not scared of anything." Valeck said, somehow he and his sister hadn't 

bothered to bring any thing besides themselves on this journey. But she was not going to 

be stuck out in the middle of nowhere with out anything to eat. 

"Let's see, she's scared of your aunt, slugs, and horses. Mom used to tell me the 

story about where Aunt Lina torched half a city because a horse... We're being followed 

aren't we." 

"You jus' noti'ed. They've been behin' us for the last hour." 

"I was going to wait until they finally decided to ambush us, but I guess I can 

defeat them now." He paused in the middle of the small clearing and began yelling, or at 

least talking louder then his normal yell. "Come out and prepare to die, for I am Valeck 

the Gray Serpent, apprentice of Naga the White Serpent. Their is no one who can defeat 

me!" At that moment, his loving sister, backhanded him into the ground. 

"I'm sorry I didn't get that last pa't about you bein' un'efitable." 

The group of bandits took the opportunity to slink into the clearing bordered on 

one side by a lake. It was your normal group of boring rag tag bandits. All dressed in the 

normal grays and blacks of those in the profession. The leader a tall skinny man with a 

knife, tasted his blade in what he thought was a scary movement and then pointed the 

now moistened weapon at the two still standing women. 

"Hand over your money and your valuables!" Both of the girls looked at him and 

his cronies. 

"How's about you han' ov'r your's valu'les." 

"Huh?" The bandit leader looked at her dumbly. "What did you just say?" 

"She said, surrender or die!" Valeck yelled standing up again. "What there's 

only ten of you? I don't know if your even worth my time." 

The boss stared at the travelers in mystification for a second. This wasn't going 

well, but their were only three of them after all and only the guy had red hair. Like his 

dad had told him a hundred times, before limping off, don't ever attack female red heads. 

"Get them!" He yelled charging forward. 

"Freeze Arrow!" 

"Flare Arrow!" 

"Run!" 

"Your not gettin' away!" 

Senritsuko looked up at the sky, the sun was just a little bit past straight up. She 

dropped her pack and pulled out a picnic cloth spreading it on the ground. 

"Please, don't kill me!" 

With a motion learned from practice she removed her shoes and sat down on the 

cloth rifling through it until she pulled out the meal she packed. 

"I shall smite the in the name of the Gray Serpent!" 

She opened the box and a pair of chopsticks. Clucking her tongue when she saw 

that some of the rice had mixed with the greens. 

"Please let me live, I have eight children." 

The battle was drifting away. The explosions becoming more distant as well as 

the screams for mercy. Senritsuko finished her meal and went back to staring up at the 

sky. A quiet peace had shrouded the glen and for the first time all day she felt relaxed. 

BOOM! 

The large explosion, rattled the entire forest and startled Senritsuko awake. She 

hadn't meant to fall asleep, but the sunlight and a full stomach had been more then 

enough to lull her into relaxation and then it wouldn't hurt to close her eyes for a second. 

The explosion that had awakened her had also startled a flock of birds from the trees. 

She watched the white and gray as they circled over head squawking their displeasure at 

being disturbed. 

The birds finally winged over the lake, heading for the forest on the other side and 

crossing over a gold head. That same head was staring back at Senritsuko from the lake. 

The gold head bobbed in the water the two staring at each other for a moment and then as 

if with some unspoken signal they both started to move. Senritsuko stood up hastily, 

stepping off the picnic cloth and putting her shoes back on. The head swam quickly to 

the shore emerging in a glorious burst of gold and blue to stand on the small beach. The 

fish head was attached to a body of a fish but with the arms and legs of a spindly human, 

thin and pale and looking, oddly like they had been added as an after thought. 

The fish screamed out chimera or monster most people who would come face to 

face with such a thing would have either been preparing for a fight or run away. 

Senritsuko was not a normal person she had grown up amongst chimeras and beast men. 

So she waited patiently for the monster to do something, and the monster waited patiently 

for her to do something. Finally, it gave up on the waiting game and pointed at itself then 

stomped its left foot. The fish repeated the action again. 

"Oh I get it your name is Stomp." Senritsuko said, "Mine's Senritsuko, pleased to 

meet you. Would you like some tea?" 

The fish shook its head negative and then pointed at the young woman's gun. 

"Please don't tell me you want to rob me." The gold fish shot two spikes from its dorsal 

fin into the nearby picnic cloth and then once again pointed to the Orihalcon inlaid 

firearm. Senritsuko sighed, she had only been hanging out with the twins for one day, 

one day, and trouble was already finding her. It had to be a curse or something. Without 

a word, and quicker then the eye could follow she pulled the new gun out of its holster 

and put two bullets right between the fishes eyes. "Damn, and now I'm going to have to 

clean it." She sighed and went back to her picnic cloth pulling one of the spikes out of it 

before digging through her pack and removing the cleaning kit for the revolver. 

*** 

"Sweet, fish for dinner tonight!" Valeck yelled, starting to gather wood. 

Senritsuko just sighed and hoped that this trip would be over soon and knowing that 

another two weeks remained. 

*** 

A man and a woman left "The Lady's Collectibles and Gun Store" each dressed 

in a fashionably extreme outfit not in keeping with the climate. The man kicked at the 

dirt "Damn, we missed them only by a day." 

The woman looked up at the sky ignoring the temper tantrum of her companion. 

"Don't worry we know where their going and it fits in with our plans." She started 

walking in the direction of the city gates and beyond them Sairag 4, leaving her 

companion to hurry along in her wake. 

Behind them in the dark shadows of a nearby building a man dressed in purple 

carrying a long staff with a red ball, shook his head at the actions of the two and 

disappeared in the blink of an eye. 

*** 

Send all complaints to STRIKESTWICE@hotmail.com, and thanks for spending the time   
to read my fic. 


	2. Eps 2: A Tale of Three Priestesses (or i...

Twin Perspectives Chapter 2 All characters belong to their perspective owners no ownership is claimed or implied for   
non-original characters. 

Special thanks go to Davner, Cavis, Incantrix, Sethra_Lavode, and Fish_Stomp for their   
help on this fic and to all the people who actually reviewed the last chapter getting me off   
my rear to write this one. 

Twin Perspectives 

Eps 2: A Tale of Three Priestesses (or is it tail?) 

By: STRIKESTWICE@hotmail.com 

Hi Mom, 

How's everything at the shop? I'm sure its all going well. Thanks for the   
revolver I just love it. It's the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life, I love you. 

Now what's going on? I'm one day away from Sairag 4, staying at the Insurance   
Inn making out my will. This is the first time I've ever been required to have a sealed   
will before entering the town, last time I was still to young, its an exciting rite of passage   
in a grim sort of way. 

What's happened on the trip? We ran into just two groups of brigands,   
thankfully. What else happened... Oh yah, yesterday we passed the three craters that   
Aunt Lina carved in her adventuring days. The waterfall into the second crater is by far   
my favorite, just breath taking and the woods are really starting to cover up the remaining   
scars from the explosions. 

Lets see anything else, hmmm... I know there was something interesting as well to   
add, but it slipped my mind, whatever it was. 

Don't worry about me. I'm fine and by evening tomorrow I should be talking to   
Aunt Syphiel and Phelan, safe in Sairag 4. 

Your Loving Daughter, 

Senritsuko 

P.S. Give White and Black a good scratch from me! 

Senritsuko looked up from the letter and the will beside it. Taking in a deep   
breath she sat back in her chair, twirling the pen in her right hand. The last two weeks of   
walking had been the closest thing to torture she had ever experienced. The twins were   
just that annoying. But come tomorrow they would part ways. She still wasn't sure   
where she would go next, but she had already decided that it wasn't back to Basvic and   
probably in the opposite direction that the twins chose. 

The logical choice then was Sairoon, she had friends their who wouldn't mind her   
just popping in and from there she could easily go to a number of places all of them of   
interest, not to mention that Sairoon's famous Memorial Rose park should be perfect this   
time of year. As a final added bonus it was the safest city in all of the old world, as the   
center of white magic, there was no way the twins would want to go there. She could   
happily part ways with the pair, and this most trying of journeys would instead turn into   
a... 

BOOM! 

Her thread of thought was completely lost by the deafening explosion. Debris   
went flying through her room as what had been the wall between her and the twins   
suddenly exploded in a flash of light and noise. 

Senritsuko started coughing as the smoke refused to clear, she felt her way to the   
rooms only window and through it open. The smoke sullenly started to clear enough in   
the room for her to be able to peer through the tears in her eyes. In the new hole she   
could just make out the twins in the other room. Yuki was sitting on the far bed staring   
at her smoking brother, a cloth covering her mouth. "See's I told you that was the wron'   
com'onet for a flam' sp'll." 

"Just one more day." Senritsuko mumbled, wondering how much longer it would   
take the inn's owner to show up. 

*** 

The morning was of course perfect, blue sky with just the hint of high white   
clouds wandering through its vastness for contrast. Birds and insects, chirped and buzzed   
respectively, adding a concophony of noise that blended in to create the natural sounds of   
a forest. The trees surrounding the path had a way of casting light and shadow on the   
path in a way to make it an almost mystical experience to walk under their green leaves.   
All of this was lost on Senritsuko, who painfully tried to stretch a crick out of her neck   
left over from using a tree root as a pillow last night. 

Behind her, maybe three paces, the twins followed the dark hair girl. Trying to   
set the blame squarely on each others shoulders. It was a conversation that had been   
running for the last few hours, being mainly made up almost entirely of curses and   
accusations. Senritsuko had already tried increasing her pace twice to lose the two, but   
that had been less then successful. They were just too stubborn to fall behind that easily.   
She was seriously considering starting to run, Valeck wouldn't be able to keep up with   
her that long wearing his armor, even with her caring a backpack, when a woman ran out   
of the woods and onto their path. 

Out of breath the woman looked up and down the wooded path in a frantic hurry,   
as if trying to make a decision in which direction to run, her gaze locked on the three   
travelers. The woman turned, her long dark hair flying as she wiped her head around, ran   
towards the group, white robes billowing in her haste as a large gold medallion bounced   
on her chest. 

"Please, you have to hide me!" The woman desperately yelled, pleading for help.   
The twins began moving as one, they rushed past Senritsuko on either side and then   
grabbed the woman throwing her into a nearby bush.   
  
"Quickly," Yuki took the woman's head and pushed her so deep into the bush   
nothing of the girl could be seen from the road and then as if they did this every day the   
pair simply began walking in the same direction they had been going in the first place.   
Senritsuko looked at the twins in complete incomprehension for a second and then   
shrugged, started to follow the pair. 

Seconds later a group of four women, all dressed in the same manner as the first,   
white robe and gold medallion, rushed out of the woods and onto the path. All four of   
them panting and out of breath as they looked both ways down the path in almost exact   
copies of the first girl's actions. The group saw the trio of travelers, and broke tiredly   
into a jog again towards them. 

The lead woman a tall ageless beauty with brilliant blonde hair, called out to the   
party in a commanding tone of voice. "Have you seen the heretic? It was dressed like us   
and should have just came through here." 

"She went that way." Valeck yelled back in his normal voice. Pointing back into   
the woods in the direction that the group of women, and the lady running from them, had   
been going in the first place. The ageless blonde nodded once and she, and the three   
woman accompanying her, all took off again into the woods. In less then a minute they   
were gone from view and to the ear, leaving the forest deafly quiet compared to the   
previous noises it had been making. 

Senritsuko silently cursed under her breath, less then half a day from Sairag 4,   
maybe six miles total and here she was involved with trouble again! It was all the twins   
fault, somehow, she wasn't quite sure how it was their fault, maybe fate or bad luck but   
she knew it had to be all their fault. Briefly she toyed with the thought of continuing on   
the journey and leaving the other two to deal with the white robed woman, but in the end   
curiosity won out. 

The party of priestesses disappeared into the forest, the head of the woman who   
had been hiding popped out of the bush she had been using for camouflage. The head   
almost comically looking both ways and then let out a sigh of relief before standing. For   
the first time Senritsuko had a good chance to get a look at the woman. The woman's   
long dark hair that sparkled almost purple in the patches of sun that leaked through the   
forest above. She also had the most incredible green eyes that seemed to contrast with   
her hair, giving her an incredibly exotic look. The priestess stepped onto the road and   
Senritsuko finally realized just how tall the girl was. She could have been an amazon,   
towering almost half a head higher then even Valeck. 

"Thank you for... " the woman paused staring at Yuki then Valeck, and almost in   
horror at Senritsuko. She tripped over a rock in her preoccupation and tumbled onto the   
ground in a pile of dusty white cloth and dark hair. 

"Are you okay?" Valeck asked in his best imitation of a gentlemen as he hurried   
over, to help the priestess and assist her to her feet. But quick as a cat she jumped up   
from the ground and backed away from the man. 

"I really must be going, thank you for your help, bye, bye." The girl said and then   
began running down the road in the direction of Sairag 4, passing by Senritsuko quickly   
and disappearing from sight as the road took a bend. 

"You know I've h'rd that v'ice b'fore." Yuki said, gazing down the road in the   
direction that the priestess had disappeared in. 

"Huh?" Senritsuko looked at the twin puzzled. 

"I k-now that v'ice."   
  
"Really, Sis? Your never wrong about those kind of things. Maybe you met her   
during your apprenticeship." Valeck said, as he started once again to walk in the   
direction of Sairag 4. 

"I just can't pl'ce it, oh well it will com' to me soon'r or lat'r."   
  
Senritsuko rolled her eyes as she was forced to a trot to keep up with Valeck. Just   
one more day, just one more day, she kept repeating to herself. 

*** 

Sairag 4 was considered by most to be on the list of worse places to live. Actually   
the only reason the city existed now was the small fishing trade made from the numerous   
artificial lakes surrounding the city, and its one and only attraction, and the surrounding   
tourist trade created from this attraction. That being the most famous fortune teller in the   
all the world the Lady Syphiel. 

It was the Lady Syphiel who created the horoscopes in all the worlds newspapers.   
It was she who had foretold the great disaster of Demons Hall and do to her warnings the   
people in the nearby towns had been saved. The fact that such a great fortune teller lived   
in Sairag 4, meant that it had to be safe, but common wise tales also said that no one can   
see their own death, so parts of the city still remained in ruins except for the tourist trade   
created for thrill seekers, a few people with nowhere better to go, and the few die hard   
entrepreneurs who were always ready to raise some money from the tourist trade. 

The actual town was laid out in-between the two largest lakes with a major hotel   
on either side of the street. A few fishing huts and stores selling tourist items such as the   
ever popular carving of the holy tree Flagoon made from real wood of the tree or heat   
seared bricks the only thing left over from Sairag 2. The most purchased item though   
were Lady Syphiel's Horoscopes and other novelty items baring her name. She had an   
entire line up now of nick-nacks supposedly used to see into the future each one colored   
in dark purple and yellow. 

To Senritsuko the town felt like a home away from home, she remembered   
spending her summers here as a child before she became old enough to watch the store.   
At the time the surrounding landscape had still been recovering from the destruction of   
Sairag 3 and she was happy to see that a tree she had planted, outside of the town, had   
grown well in the last few years. 

She was also disappointed by the commercialization that had swarmed the town   
in response to her aunts fortune telling. Part of her knew that it was a plan by Lady   
Syphiel to repopulate the city, but to Senritsuko who could still remember the open   
expanses of land, it seemed to be encouraging the lowest denominators of human to settle   
rather then tradesmen and farmers that should make up a thriving happy city. 

They finally reached the center of the town and the monument to those who had   
been lost in the disasters the city had suffered. Carved in the shape of a large tear with   
the names of the people that had died in the city stenciled in its side, it represented a   
tribute to all those who were dead but not forgotten. At its base flowers were placed by   
wandering pilgrims and family members who had survived by an act of the gods. 

All three of them looked at the monument sobered. To Senritsuko the shrine had   
always represented the resting place of her father she had never known. She purchased   
some white flowers from a nearby flower stand and laid them down in front of the tear as   
the twins watched, silently. She waited respectful, trying to feel something for her father,   
but nothing came to fill the void, just the usual emptiness of something missing. She   
finally signaled the twins and they continued on down the street towards aunt Syphiel's   
house. 

The trio finally arrived at the small house that Syphiel lived in. As always it was   
surrounded by a crowd of tourists, who had braved the ever constant danger of being   
destroyed in another fiery death of the city. They came to have their fortunes told by the   
most famous fortune teller in all the world. The line was a mixed lot, from young to old,   
rich to poor, their seemed to be no common denominator that would explain the group   
that wished just a small peek into their own future. 

Senritsuko had never understood this overwhelming need to look into the future,   
she was by far more interested in the events that had happened in the past. The mysteries   
of the future could remained locked away in the folds of time for all she cared if she   
could just once get a glimpse of the past and what had happened at this exact place   
nineteen years ago. 

A small man sat at the gate to the house running crowd control. Sitting behind a   
podium, he casually orchestrated the crowd, every so often flipping through a book to   
check some important peace of information only known to him. The trio walked up to   
him by passing the line as if they didn't see it and stood in front of the man. Valeck   
impaled him with his meanest stare as Yuki put on her trademarked puppy dog   
expression and Senritsuko sighed.   
  
"Back of the line." The man didn't even look up from his book.   
  
"Hold..." Valeck tried to get out but was promptly interrupted.   
  
"Back of the line." The tiny man still refused to look up from his book having the   
gall to scribble something down in the mean time.   
  
"I th'nk..." Yuki tried. 

"Back of the line." 

"I th'nk he's a gol'm." Yuki said, looking at the little man. The man finally   
gazed up from his book. 

"I'll have you know that I'm Lady Syphiel's personal secretary, not a gol'm or   
whatever stupid curses you can come up with young lady. Back of the line!" He finished   
the sentence slowly pronouncing every syllable correctly obviously for Yuki's benefit. 

"How dare you, do you know who I am." Yuki yelled, as Senritsuko looked at the   
girl amazed, Yuki had gotten so angry that she had forgotten her fake accent. 

"I don't care if you are the Goose Goose of Greater Geese you aren't getting in   
here ahead of the rest of these people, now back of the line!" 

"That does it! Flare..." She was cut off as her brother thumped her on the head. 

"Cool off Sis, Aunt Syphiel is not going to be pleased if we kill her secretary."   
Valeck yelled in his normal tone of voice as he felt someone touch him on the back. 

"I would appreciate that." The Lady Syphiel told the trio, then smiled at them. "I   
have been expecting you three, please come in for some tea, won't you?" 

"Aunt Syphiel, of course we would love too." Senritsuko said grabbing up her   
backpack and quickly following the older woman, leaving the twins with no choice but to   
scramble to catch up with them. The pair hurriedly running up the few steps and into the   
cottage. 

The first room was obviously designed for guests, carefully decorated in the   
designs expected of a fortune teller, black curtains hung from all the walls making sure   
that no light leaked into the room. In the center sat a small table with a blue table cloth   
surrounded by three chairs. 

Syphiel completely ignored the room and walked behind one of the curtains into a   
bright sunlit kitchen and poured herself and the trio some tea that had been on the stove   
waiting for them. She offered them seats, tea, and then cookies in that order, before   
grinning at the youngsters happily. 

"I know why you have come and I have some advice for you." She told them   
ominously as the three travelers shifted closer to her. "You came to see the new Rezo's   
Secret Laboratory Roller Coaster didn't you?" She held up three tickets with the most   
interesting gleam in her eyes.   
  
Yuki's eyes started to go hard and she leaped out of her chair, for a second   
Senritsuko was afraid that the woman would start cursing out her aunt, but the younger   
girl instead grabbed the tickets and hugged them with a passion. 

"Oh, tha'k you! I've been wantin' to go for mo'ths since I hea'd of it." Behind   
her, her brother cleared his throat. "Oh yah, we nee' you're help, Aunty." Yuki said,   
"An imp'tant item was stol'n from our man'hion a mo'th ago and we need to fin' it." 

"Dear please talk normally." Syphiel sipped on her tea. 

"What Sis is trying to say Aunt Syphiel, is that we desperately need your help to   
try to find the crystal sword." Valeck gave her his most impassioned speech 

"Oh that's easy, and the tickets are free with a reading."   
  
"Well...?" Valeck asked.   
  
"I knew you would want them." She smiled at the trio. "Remember I'm   
psychic!" Senritsuko sighed trying to believe it could be worse, somehow. "Oh and the   
sword will turn up as long as you two stick to Senritsuko." It was worse, so much worse   
then she could have imagined, she barely clamped down on a moan. NO! Senritsuko   
stopped breathing. There had to be a way to ditch the twins, now no matter what she did,   
where she went, they would follow her. By its own accord her hand rested on the hilt of   
her revolver, she felt trapped, like she needed a way out of her, now! But, common sense   
prevailed and she started to breath again. With effort she picked up her tea and slowly   
sipped it listening once again to the conversation, focusing all her attention on making   
sure the tea cup didn't rattle.   
  
"So is the roll'coaster real' as good as they say?" Yuki asked quietly, a gleam in   
her eyes.   
  
"Oh yes its fabulous they have a guaranteed nausea policy." The priestess assured   
her. "You'll need to hurry if you want to make it on time and I still have a few   
appointments. Why not come back later and we'll eat dinner together. Oh and when you   
see my son, give him a good whack and tell him, that of course I know, I'm psychic."   
  
Senritsuko perked up for the first time in the conversation. "Phelan's here? I   
would love to see him."   
  
"Oh, I'm afraid not dear he won't join you until later."   
  
The dark hair girl sighed at least it was something to look forward to... gah!   
There was no way she was traveling one step further with the twins. She was going to   
ditch them. She looked up to see Syphiel giving her that knowing look. Which forced   
her mind to begin running in circles, were her actions resulting in a self fulfilling   
prophesy or were... she cut the line of thought. It was best to just do what you would   
normally do, and in this case it was to get rid of the twins as soon as possible.   
  
The rest of the conversation had already passed by the time her thoughts had   
reached some sort of organization and she found herself on the porch with Yuki and   
Valeck looking expectantly at her. The girl paused wondering where to go next. 

"C'mon lets go get on the roll'coaster bee-for they close!" Yuki yelled, dragging   
Senritsuko down the stairs and off into the streets trailed by Valeck.   
  
They traveled that way, Senritsuko feeling like she would get her arm torn off by   
Yuki the entire time until they passed the monument. At that point the slightly older girl   
finally was able to grab onto a street light and stop her forward progress. For the   
millionth time Senritsuko cursed the fact that she still looked like a young teenager.   
  
"Why don't you two go on ahead, I'm not really into roller coasters." Senritsuko   
forced a winning smile onto her face.   
  
Yuki paused as her hand was wrenched free of the other girls arm. "But, Aunty   
said that we had to sti' to you."   
  
"If she had expected something to happen, she wouldn't have made dinner plans."   
Yuki stood still for a second, and Senritsuko knew that the puppy-dog face was   
soon to appear and then as if her prayers to heaven had been answered the girl nodded   
once.   
  
"Okay we'll mee' you at Aunty's hou-se in a few hours." Then the green hair girl   
grabbed onto her brother and pulled him down the road in the direction that Rezo's   
workshop had originally been in.   
  
Senritsuko, sighed and felt for a split second like leaving everything behind and   
making a run for the next town. She was sure she could make it there a little after night   
fall, but she would need to keep on moving. The twins would be only be delayed a few   
hours at most and had an amazing knack at running into people who didn't want to be   
found.   
  
"Um... excuse me, I was hoping we might have a few moments to speak,   
m'lady?" A blonde haired woman asked her. The woman was dressed in a pale gold   
dress made out of what looked like large golden scales. Senritsuko was having a hard   
time trying to figure out if it was a dress or armor of a sorts. Even odder then that the   
woman had a long bow and a quiver of arrows strapped to her back.   
  
"Actually, I need to be somewhere, maybe next time." What was it with her,   
were weirdoes attracted to her by some evil law of the universe, were the gods laughing   
at her just for the hell of it?   
  
"Please, I've followed you all the way here from Basvic and it's really important,   
m'lady."   
  
"Okay just a minute though, did my mom send you?"   
  
"You don't mind if we sit and have some tea, m'lady." The girl looked at the   
other older woman wondering if she could even sit in that outfit.   
  
"Sure that would be nice and you can stop with the m'lady stuff, my mom is the   
lady not me."   
  
The two women sat down at the tea shop across the street from the monument.   
  
"I want to really thank you for giving me this chance to talk to you, m'lady. My   
name is Sethra and I'm a priestess of the Fire Dragon King. I'm sure you are aware that   
the Golden Dragons were all but destroyed twenty odd years ago."   
  
Senritsuko looked at her for a second. "I was aware of that fact, I just don't see   
how that has anything to do with me and I'm really in a hurry."   
  
"But you have to know that your half golden dragon, your mother was the last   
surviving adult dragon in the entire clan." The woman said excitedly as Senritsuko   
decided once and for all that this woman was crazy. 

*** 

Yuki was on a mission, for six months she had heard of the roller coaster through   
Rezo's Secret Laboratory and finally she would have a chance to experience one of the   
true wonders of the modern world. That was until her brother dragged her to a halt. For   
a second she gazed at her slightly taller sibling about ready to give him an ear full when   
she saw what he was not so subtly pointing at. A woman dressed all in white darting   
through the main street from alleyway to alleyway.   
  
"Sis, you go ahead I think I'll take care of this one."   
  
"Not a chan', bro and she still remin's me of som'ne."   
  
"C'mon sis, I didn't get between you and that bounty hunter guy."   
  
"No you just eav'dropp' on us the in-tire time and then gave him a   
non-conception gem. The guy thought I was easy... AND I AM NEV'R EASY!" She   
squeezed her hands together imagining it was somebody's throat, Valeck was a little to   
scared to ask who's.   
  
"Okay, sis... But I still want to ask her some questions."   
  
"Oh most definite' she owes us a re-ward at the very lea't." Yuki said running off   
in the same direction that the priestess had disappeared minutes before. 

*** 

End Chapter Two. Thanks for reading my fic. If you review this fic please tell me if this   
HTML formatiing was easier or worse then the last chapter. Thanks again. 


	3. Eps 3: Hey wasn?t that my meal ticket?

Twin Perspectives Chapter 3 All characters belong to their perspective owners, no ownership is claimed or implied for   
non-original characters. 

Special thanks go to Davner, Cavis, Incantrix, Sethra_Lavode, the Total Anime Nut, and   
Fish_Stomp for their help on this fic. 

Twin Perspectives 

Eps 3: Hey wasn't that my meal ticket? 

By: STRIKESTWICE@hotmail.com 

"Your attention please." The brightly dressed herald yelled from the center of the   
village square, startling a flock of pigeons that had been adorning the near by monument.   
"The Lady Syphiel has announced that a disaster will befall the town in the next four   
hours, all residents are advised to evacuate. I repeat..." 

Senritsuko ignored the announcement as she concentrated on extracting herself   
from Sethra. Before her, the gold armored woman shifted in her chair, her scale armor   
clanging merrily. 

"I'm sure you understand how important it is that you accompany me back to Fire   
Dragon Mountain. We, the priestesses of my order, have been charged by the Fire   
Dragon God to repopulate the world with mighty golden dragons." 

"But I'm not a dragon, look at me, I'm a human as is my mother. And if this was   
such an important mission, why didn't you ask my mom, or wait until now to find me?"   
The girl knew that logic was probably not the answer in this type of situation, but the   
alternatives were just as unlikely to work. 

The priestess smiled at her indulgently. "Didn't you know that dragons can   
change their forms to look like humans if they wish? As to why we didn't ask your   
mom?" She sipped on her tea as Senritsuko slowly closing her eyes and slid down into   
her chair fast asleep from the tan root Sethra had slipped into her tea. "That is a secret."   
  
*** 

Yuki and Valeck followed the priestess into a back alley, finally cornering her   
against a new wooden wall beside an inn's stable. 

From across the wall, the words, "Lady Syphiel... disaster... approaching."   
Drifted to the twin's ears but was ignored, in their examination of their prey. 

"I don't think we were properly introduced, beautiful lady." Valeck, the Gray   
Serpent, Gabriev yelled in his normal tone of voice. 

"Nice pick up line bro'. Gonna go with the old date me, or die now, thin'?" Yuki   
asked, receiving a most evil stare from her brother. 

"I think it would be more accurate to say, that you should shut up or die." 

"Try it bro' and eat di't." The young lady, took up a defensive spell casting   
position, ready to attack or defend. Her brother followed suit as each gathered energy   
just as the young priestess, forgotten for a second, made a dash for it. Yuki with out   
taking her eyes off of her powering up brother, tossed a dagger at the priestess yelling   
"SHADOW SNAP!" The small dagger embedded into the shadow of the priestess   
freezing her in place. 

The priestess paused, unable to move, once again ignored by the twins. The two   
both cast the same spell at once. A pair of balls full of glowing energy crackling with   
power arched at each other, colliding in a blast of air and light. The two balls continued   
to attack each other as their casters poured more power into the spheres. Yuki's pink ball   
slowly started pushing back her brothers blue ball, in a contest the twins had fought a   
hundred times before. The young woman grinned ferally at her brother, as her spell   
pushed him back. Then with a pop, the spell finally failed, tossing Valeck into the   
ground. Yuki grinned at her brother triumphantly. 

"Tol' ya." 

"Someday sis, someday." The man said, trying to unseat his spikes from the dirt.   
With a last groan Valeck sat up knocking clods of dirt off of his armor. He pulled the   
last piece of paving stones off a spike, when a woman dressed all in gold and carrying   
another young woman, ran past the alley. 

"Ugh Sis, did you just see that?" 

"Yah to thin' she did'ched us to go get drun'." 

"Ugh huh, someone is stealing the only way we have to save our lives before   
mom and dad get back." 

"So you wan' to go to the roll'coast'r?" 

"Sis, two things one you have a nice priestess trapped by a spell and two" By this   
time Valeck's normally loud voice, had gone surprisingly soft. "Someone in really tacky   
armor," Yuki failed to hold back a snort at this comment "is stealing Senritsuko." 

"LIGHT!," the previously trapped priestess yelled, as she fizzled out the 'Shadow   
Snap' spell and began running down the street in the direction that Senritsuko had   
disappeared in. The twins took one look at each other for a second and then took off in   
the direction of the two priestesses and the shanghaied girl. 

The two rounded the corner and picked up speed as the golden armored woman   
overbalanced by the weight of Senritsuko slowly limped towards the edge of town. The   
white robed priestess dashed through the clean streets after the abductee clutching her   
robes with her left hand, pulling the hem just above her feet as she ran. The priestess   
graceful and feminine in the action, compared to the unfashionably dressed female twin   
trying to catch up with her. 

Sethra, the gold armored priestess, lost her tenuous hold on Senritsuko, dropping   
her onto the ground in a disheveled pile. She looked down at her lost bundle and noticed   
the closing pursuit teams, in a fluid movement the golden priestess grabbed the huge bow   
from off her back and put an arrow to the string. She let fly at the white dressed   
priestess, who dodged in a fluid flowing move of the robes. The arrow skidded off the   
ground and bounced into the far building demolishing part of a wall. 

"FLARE ARROW!" Valeck yelled as he tossed a spell at the priestess. The girl   
didn't even dodge as a black mist blocked the arrow of magical fire. The fire licked the   
tale edges of the mist, as a pair of red eyes slowly emerged from the blackness. The mist   
slowly forming into the shape of a man, in the oh so stock villain dark cowl, with the   
whole glowing red eyes thing going. 

"Crap!" 

"This is a' you' faul', bro'." Yuki yelled at her brother, as she pulled a tiny   
dagger out of its sheath and rotated the weapon until it was pointing at the priestess. 

"How the hell is this my fault! It's all your fault, your the one who said we   
should go ride on the roller coaster!" Valeck yelled back and then screamed. "STONE   
GOLEM!" A huge, twenty foot, gray golem slowly rose from the ground in a cloud of   
smoke appearing rather ominous in the slowly darkening sky. 

The white cloaked priestess had disappeared in the smoke leaving only the twins,   
a blissfully asleep Senritsuko, one demon, and a gold dressed dragon priestess. Them   
and a huge golem shambling towards the demon in the normal slow but deadly attack of   
a mindless stone toy. 

"I am Valeck, the Gray Serpent, Gabriev and this is..." 

"Yuki, the One Blade, Gabriev." She turned the tiny dagger over in her hand as it   
rapidly began to grow into a long dark blade rippling with energy, an heirloom of her   
mother and father's travels. 

Yuki waved the sword around once and then charged forward wasting no motions   
in her attack. The archer rapidly fired two arrows from her long bow, both of which   
Yuki knocked away with her sword. Each of the arrows ricocheting to the side of the   
street and impacting into a building. Behind her, the golem slowly lumbered along,   
shacking the empty streets. 

The red eyed demon, having been forced to dodge the golden priestess' attacks as   
well, gave her an annoyed look as Yuki slashed at one of its arms. 

"Ow that hurts!" The demon yelled, cuddling it's arm. The dragon priestess slung   
her bow grabbing up Senritsuko over her shoulder, only to be slammed into the stomach   
by the white clad priestess who had circled around the buildings. The white robed   
priestess grabbed up Senritsuko and kicked Sethra again in the knee before running off.   
The demon phased out of this dimension leaving Yuki and the Golem, who had finally   
caught up to her, standing awkwardly in mid stroke. The girl overbalanced and   
attempted to use her sword to stop her descent. She forgot, for a split second, that it was   
an energy sword and fell to the ground. The sword buried up to its small hilt, in the   
street. 

"C'mon sis, don't fall behind." Valeck yelled, as he ran past her. His sword   
flapping against his armor. The sorcer gave chase with his golem, their loud footfalls   
echoing in the empty streets. 

The sun ducked behind the nearby mountains as the group once again began   
chasing after each other. The white robed priestess seemed in no need to take a break, as   
she charged through the city dodging into alley ways that only a native of the city would   
know existed. The city was eerily empty in the twilight as the running footsteps echoed   
down the alleys. 

Yuki had finally reached her center, she was pissed and channeling all of that rage   
into powering her sword. The girl ran down the alley ways, following her brother's back.   
Her sword hummed and grew from the power, darkening the surrounding alley way with   
it's anti-light. 

She was focused, the world a blur of shadows all in perfect detail, the second   
something moved she would feel it. Years of apprenticeship had gone into reaching this   
level of understanding and ability. Her sword was one with her, channeling her magical   
energy as she ran down the street. She followed her brother as he turned another corner.   
Yuki ran around the corner and was alone. Her brother, the two priestess, even the   
golem, suddenly missing, leaving her alone in the empty streets. 

Fog began to drift into the streets, forming from the multiple lakes that   
surrounded the city. To her right the moon slowly swung up above the dead tree Flagoon.   
The light creating shadows of impossible darkness. Suddenly behind her and to the right,   
the darkness attacked from out of one of the walls. Yuki felt its movement, dodging to   
the left and throwing herself forcefully into the other wall. Her sword whipped up and   
went to at guard against an attack that didn't exist. Once again, she was alone in the   
alleyway. 

One of the shadows to her left suddenly darted forward at her, slashing in a   
downward ark of darkness. Yuki jumped to the right and brought her sword up to parry   
the attack, overextending at something that wasn't there. Forced into a bad position, she   
took off running out of the alleyway. The darkness flashed in front of her trying to stop   
her retreat. 

Yuki yelled and charged forward, dodging at the last second to the left and out   
into the fog of an empty street. She had thought that the larger space would give her a   
better chance to attack the demon, but now with the deathly silence surrounding her in a   
web of fog, she felt even more in danger. Breathing hard from powering the sword and   
the constant running, Yuki felt her strength waning. She needed to let the blade go while   
she still had the strength to reactivate it, but it called to her. Its power whispering   
throughout her body and magic, reaching for more power that she didn't have. 

The demon lunged at her again, a claw of fog and darkness. She rolled forward   
onto the ground as one of it's fingers grazed her shoulder, opening up a fine line of red.   
Yuki cursed fluently, changing languages and accents, as she rolled into a low crouch.   
She stopped the power to the sword, letting it sputter out, its black light effects slowly   
dimming until she stood in moon lit fog. Yuki sprang up from her crouch and began   
running through the streets dodging black unrecognizable objects from both sides. She   
finally ran out of the town, her small wound soaking the back of her shirt as she ran to   
the edge of one of the lakes. 

The air chuckled at her. "Run out of places to run, human? I will make you pay   
for this scratch a hundred times over." 

"Crecalsa reflax purzar." Yuki yelled at the demon, then switched languages and   
curses. "HeLon StOm MorosoPhe SuFuro." Without pausing, she switched to a third   
language, then a forth. 

The air chuckled again and rippled to her right, and her left at the same time.   
"Now, now, that isn't nice. Though so few humans can pronounce the dark speech that   
well, I compliment you." The air rippled to her left and right, as well as in front of her   
and something itching at her back, told her behind her as well. 

Yuki called out again, "EM OT NRUTER," as the shimmering around her   
increased. In front of her the shimmering solidified into a claw, as a dark light roared   
behind it. The claw had enough time to flinch as anti-light buried itself into the demon.   
Yuki smiled for a second, showing her teeth as her sword, leapt out of the claw and   
gracefully settled back into her hand. The claw, a hole ripped through it to somewhere   
else, jerked in pain and disappeared along with the other ones that had been surrounding   
her. 

A pair of footsteps echoed through the fog running towards her. She changed her   
stance going to on guard, with the sword low, point towards the ground, as she quietly   
circled the steps trying to get the lake out from behind her and give herself enough room   
to move or run. 

"Hey sis, don't wave that thing around at me, you know how much I hate that pig   
sticker." 

"Damn it, I almo' 'ave you a new ho' bro'." She stepped close to Valcec so that   
they could finally see each other. 

"You okay sis, your bleedin'." 

"No real' and it frea'in' hurts. Where's Senritsuko." 

"I lost her." 

"BreNor!" 

"You said it, sis." 

To their right, on the other side of town, the fog exploded into light, changing the   
dark little shadows created by the moon, into a complicated maze of diffused light. The   
two siblings began running back into town. 

*** 

The priestess ducked behind the mound of trash, as another arrow passed over her   
head. She looked over at the still sleeping Senritsuko and wondered tiredly if this   
situation could get any worse. 

Sethra paused in her firing of her seemingly inexhaustible supply of arrows. The   
white robed girl, looked up over the mound of defensive garbage, to see the priestess   
holding an arrow as it slowly began glowing. She blinked once in confusion and then   
thought better of remaining there. Grabbing up Senritsuko, the priestess ran through the   
garbage pile and dodged into an alleyway. Behind her the night blazed into light as a   
large portion of the building next to her exploded. 

In front of her three white robed woman moved out from a doorway and blocked   
her path. This was the reason she had ran away in the first place, to avoid a fight and   
here they were putting her in-between the rock and the hard place. The white robed   
priestess looked around the corridor for some way to exit it with out a fight, as behind her   
the golden dressed priestess, Sethra, entered the far end of the alleyway. For the first   
time in her life, the fleeing priestess thought maybe joining the priest hood hadn't been   
the best goal for her. She shrugged and started chanting: 

"Defender of creation,   
Shield of all that lives,   
Cradle me in your golden wings,   
Protect me... GUARDIAN WIND!" 

A spear of light formed out of the ground, and then another, and another until five   
spears surrounded her. In a blink of an eye, the five spears shot out tentacles of light,   
connecting each spear to the other. The three priestesses who had been after the priestess   
who was casting the spell, gave one look at the power forming and tuned and ran. 

Trails of wind slowly began to circle around the priestess, as she called her spell,   
the white spears finally closed forming a pentagram, as the wind picked up. Swirling   
faster and faster the wind howled into a tornado around the two girls, defending them as   
they stood in the center of the storms eye. The buildings around the alleyway began to   
collapse as the wind buffeted against their sides. The air filling with shingles, bricks and   
other loosed debris. 

Sethra dodged a rock and tried to charge another arrow full of energy. She   
concentrate the attack in the hope that it would some way disrupt the powerful spell that   
was forming. A chunk of building collided into her armor, and the golden priestess lost   
her footing. The wind caught her moment of instability and tossed her like a rag doll   
across the air and into a building on the far side of the plaza. The woman crumpled and   
then disappeared as a strange darkness enveloped her. 

The white clothed priestess, slung Senritsuko across her back again and tried to   
see anything through the whirl wind that surrounded her. She gave up after a second and   
walked slowly forward, as the tornado remained centered on her. Her slow shuffling   
steps carried her through what remained of the strangely clean streets. The spell was   
draining her quickly. The priestess finally let the storm go and began running again   
towards the edge of town. Only to run into the Gabriev Twins. She skidded to a halt and   
then took off at a right angle. 

The twins didn't even bother to stop as they both fired off Flare Arrows at the   
priestess. The two arrows bounced at her feet creating little fires on the ground. The   
priestess turned around tiredly and looked at the advancing twins. She rummaged   
through her mind for an appropriate spell, with her dwindling strength nothing popped   
into mind. 

*** 

The priestess smiled at Yuki, as she put Senritsuko down on the ground softly. 

"Well it looks like you have the situation in hand, and I really have to be leaving   
now." The priestess said, sidling towards the dark beckoning edge of town. Yuki gave a   
meaningful glance to her brother as she stopped walking about ten feet from the   
priestess. Her brother though continued moving, slowly circling the priestess until he   
blocked her escape route. 

"We would enjoy talking to you for a moment." Valeck yelled nonchalantly as he   
studied the ground looking for a good piece of stone to form a golem out of. 

"I'm in a bit of hurry right now, maybe tomorrow." 

"No, I th'k we nee' to have a ta'k." 

"Yuki, please talk normally." The priestess asked the girl, as her eyes shifted   
around looking for a possible route to escape through. 

"Why did you take Senritsuko." Valeck asked, trying to keep the girl off balance. 

"She looked like she was in danger. My Order requires us to help those in need." 

"Seems to me your not that popular with your Order." Valeck yelled, from   
behind her. 

"A minor misunderstanding over succession, that doesn't mean I can forget my   
teachings, just because I feel like it." Yuki snapped her fingers, a big smile suddenly   
brightening her face. 

"Cous' its been a whi'. I like the new do." Yuki looked over at Valeck. "And   
Aun' Sylphiel said we wouldn't be seein' Phelan for a week or two. I wonder why?" 

"Who knows, damn and I almost asked you for a date." Valeck shuddered, at the   
thought. 

"Bro, that's wha' you get." Yuki snickered. 

"I think you have me confused...." 

"Sis, its not funny, why does every girl we ever meet seem to turn out to have a   
good reason not to be interested in me." 

"Maybe because your a loud obnoxious guy, who's goal in life is to create the   
ultimate female golem." 

"Excuse me..." The priestess said. 

"This from a girl who runs around with a big sword." Yuki rolled her eyes and   
fondled her sword's hilt smiling. 

"Car' to eat my sw'rd?" 

"Maybe tomorrow, today we have blackmail on the agenda." 

"That's why I so luv you big bro'. So wha' shou' we ask for? I doub' our dear   
cous' has any cash." 

"Isn't it obvious dear sister, a spell." Valeck smiled evilly, licking his lips. "The   
spell." Yuki blinked, for a second in surprise and then her smile became even bigger. 

"No, you two can't mean...? I promised my mom when she taught me the spell   
not to share it." 

"Oh, we can always tell Senritsuko" Yuki said, "The poor little girl who finds out   
the guy she always liked was actually a... " Yuki trailed off and smiled. 

"You wouldn't... " She looked at the twins. The priestess suddenly started   
crying. "Everyone is always picking on me, " she sobbed. "All I ever wanted was to   
follow in my mother's footsteps. Become a great priestess, and help save the world.   
What's so wrong with that?" 

"Dude your a guy." Valeck yelled at the sobbing woman. 

"It's not my fault!" 

"The deal still stan's, you tea' us the Dragon Slave or we tell Senritsuko who you   
real' are." Yuki said smiling through gritted teeth. 

"You know sis, she acts more like a girl then you do." 

"Shut up, Bro!" 

"But I was just saying..." The evil grin Yuki started to give her brother while   
fingering the hilt of her sword, decided him against completing the sentence. 

"So any ways, what name should we call you Phelan, while your dressed that   
way?" 

"Well I was going by the name Kyoko, you two can call me that." 

*** 

Senritsuko awoke in the darkness, a large hammer beating on her skull. Groaning   
she turned over on her side and removed the contents of her stomach, onto the hard forest   
ground. 

She finally stopped heaving and with what little remained of her strength, sat up,   
looking around her surroundings. Cautiously she fumbled with her right hand until it   
rested reassuringly on the hilt of her revolver. With a slight tremble she yanked it out of   
her holster and tried to steady the comforting weight. In front of her the darkness moved   
and then reformed around the face of that weird priestess who had run away from them   
yesterday. Her hands trembling, Senritsuko slowly raised the weapon up to point it at the   
girl, just as both Yuki and Valeck walked out of the darkness to either side of the green   
eyed woman. 

"So you fin'ly awake?" Yuki asked, staring at the gunwoman. Senritsuko paused   
for just a second and then slid her gun back into it's holster. 

"Yah, I guess. Did you get that woman who drugged me?" 

"Nope, but she did have a dem'n with her so it looks like Aun' Syphiel was righ',   
somethin's goin' on with you." 

"Great, " Senritsuko cursed internally, now there would be no getting rid of the   
twins. "Who's this with you." 

"Oh this is Kyoko she helped save you." Yuki put on her most winning smile as   
Kyoko stepped forward and bowed slightly. 

"It's a pleasure to meet you." 

*** 

Above them in the dark shadow of a tree, a purple hair priest starred down at the   
group, smiling cockeyed he leaned back against the trunk and settled in for the night. 

*** 

Send all comments to STRIKESTWICE@hotmail.com 


	4. Interlude 1: Thief's Perspective

All characters belong to their perspective owners no ownership is claimed or implied for  
non-original characters.  
  
Special thanks go to Davner, Cavis, Incantrix, Sethra_Lavode, the Total Anime Nut,  
Zervon, and Fish_Stomp for their help on this fic.  
  
Timing Note: This fic takes place as Senritsuko and friends are traveling from Sairag 4  
to Sairoon.  
  
Twin Perspectives  
  
Interlude: Thief's Perspective, Part 1  
  
By: STRIKESTWICE@hotmail.com  
  
The thief paused on the terrace of the tower, looking into the room below.   
Casually, she adjusted her mask, as her eyes glowed with glee at the seemingly  
unprotected Sairoon Family Royal Jewels. Knowing better then to trust appearances, the  
girl reached into her backpack and pulled out a night scope. She carefully focused the  
magical device checking every corner of the tower for guards. The room still remained  
empty of occupants. Next she turned a knob on the magical device changing the function  
of the scope and almost whistled, as magical defenses suddenly became visible. Red  
bands of light traced the room in every direction, creating a web of magical detectors.  
  
Down below her the only door into the tower opened and a guard walked slowly  
into the room. He circled the crown once, humming to himself, before exiting the room  
again.   
  
The thief pushed a button on her pocket watch and became a flurry of action. The  
girl put her night scope back into her bag and pulled out a glass cutter. The window  
quickly fell to her ministrations, allowing the thief entrance to the tower. Taking out a  
cloth bag from her backpack, she dumped its contents into the room spreading a thick fog  
of dust that outlined all of the magical defenses. She replaced the bag and pulled out a  
grapple gun bracing herself against a wall, she shot the grapple into the opposite wall,  
creating a faint "tink" sound as it firmly attached itself to the other side. Carefully, she  
tied her own side of the rope to the window's railing. A special pulley, one of the few  
items remaining in her bag, was set on the fine wire of the grapple and then with a  
"click" she secured a safety line to herself. Using both of her feet she pushed off the  
ledge and out into mid air. The rope dipped alarmingly, as if the weight of the girl was  
much more then her small appearance would suggest, but held solid. Hand over hand,  
dangling from the pulley, the girl moved out over the room trying to find a spot to lower  
herself from without tripping the beams of magical red light. Finally, she located the  
perfect spot and pushed a button. The winch above her slowly lowered the safety line,  
allowing her to descend down into the maze of lights.  
  
The thief, took the time to glance nervously at her pocket watch, only four more  
minutes until the guard was supposed to return if the schedule she had checked for the  
last two days held true.  
  
The descent after a long minute ended, leaving her dangling mere inches from the  
glass container, that held the royal crown of Sairoon. She carefully pulled out her glass  
cutter from her belt again, moving slowly to make sure she didn't start rocking, and trip a  
security device.  
  
The only door into the tower burst open as light spilled into the room. Framed in  
the light, Princess Amelia Wil Tesla Sairoon looked disappointedly at the thief.  
  
"Sawa, what are you doing? I thought we had agreed that you would stop this."   
  
"But mom."  
  
"No buts, young lady, your grounded for one week." The co-ruler of Sairoon  
motioned to the captain of the guards standing behind her. "Captain confiscate those  
things and post two guards on her."  
  
"But mom," the captain looked at his ruler one time and then slowly approached  
the glowering princes.  
  
"Sawa, I want you to think on this, you belong to the family of justice and  
goodness, we are not some... some...." The princess at a loss for words, turned away  
from her dangling daughter, not noticing the tongue her daughter stuck out at her  
retreating back.  
  
***  
  
The door to Sawa's room burst open followed by her mother, the Princess  
Amelia, and two out of her best guards.  
  
"I don't know how you did it Sawa, but this is the last straw, give back the crown,  
NOW!"   
  
The younger princess blinked the sleep from her eyes and sat up in her bed.  
Grabbing up one of the blankets on the bed, she held it up to her chest to hide her  
nightgown. "Huh?" She asked her mother.  
  
"Don't you, huh, me young lady. Where is the crown?" Sawa fuzzily rose from  
the bed, taking the blanket with her, trying to figure out what her mother was going on  
about.   
  
"I don't know what your talking about, mom."   
  
"Sawa Yuri Lina Seiroon, don't you lie to me. We are hero's of justice and  
justice never lies."  
  
"Mom, I didn't steal anything. I went to bed last night."  
  
"Honey, don't make me find your father."  
  
"Mom, are you even listening to me."  
  
"Young lady, don't you take that tone of voice with me."   
  
Sawa paused for a second, and then threw her blanket at the two guards. The girl  
jumped out the third story window of the tower catching onto a cable. She had placed  
the line conveniently there months before and slid down into the court yard, her night  
gown fluttering in the wind, and giving a great show to the pair of white magicians  
standing guard on the ground. Sawa grunted as she hit the ground hard and rolled with  
the forward momentum.  
  
"You get back here right now, Sawa!" Amelia yelled from the tower as her  
daughter sprinted towards the front gate. "Stop her," the reigning princess yelled at the  
pair of dumbfounded gatekeepers who paused and then started closing the two wooden  
doors. Sawa with out even breaking stride, ran through the gate thanking her lucky stars  
that she had the foresight to make sure the guards had owed her a large enough favor to  
let her slip by, rather then tackling her in some actual attempt to stop her escape.  
  
Sawa ran into the town dodging through randomly alleyways until she was sure  
that she had lost any pursuers. Catching her breath she regained her bearings and then  
started walking toward the seedier part of the White Magic City of Sairoon. Not that  
Sairoon actually had a true seedier part of town, gangs, or even a thief's guild; the town  
was remarkably free of anything vaguely close to a criminal element. But, it did have  
one almost shady bar.   
  
The bar in question was a ramshackle affair sitting in-between a guard station and  
a chapel. Both government buildings had not been there when the inn was originally  
purchased and converted from a boarding house. It was the normal way of Sairoon to  
remove undesirable elements. Surprisingly though, the bar had still prospered.   
  
"The Smiling Priestess" was empty when Sawa snuck in the back door and waved  
politely to Bob, the only cook, as he slaughtered a rat and then threw it on the stove. The  
big man grunted politely and went back to chewing on his mouth full of gristle.  
  
Sawa ran up the back stairs and into the hallway connecting the inn's rooms  
together. Making sure the hall was empty; she hurriedly pulled out a key from around  
her neck and dodged into the closest room. Locking the door behind her she flopped  
down on the surprisingly clean bed and stared up at the ceiling.   
  
The princess, finally with the time to sort out her feelings, tried to decide what  
she was feeling. Mainly irritated, someone had stolen her thunder, the one goal she had  
trained her entire life to accomplish and someone had beat her to it. Not to mention that  
now she was being accused of crime she had never successfully committed even after  
over a dozen tries. She sighed and turned on her side starring at the off white wall.  
  
Someone knocked on the door, two raps and then a single one. "C'mon in,  
Kakara." A key rattled in the lock and then the door opened revealing a tall woman with  
long brown hair and dark eyes, who flowed more then walked in her long dress. Kakara  
the owner of "The Smiling Priestess" and ex-priestess herself before a rather nasty  
incident that she hadn't even told Sawa about.  
  
"Hey lover, how's it going. I heard you finally scored the goal." Sawa sighed and  
rolled her eyes starring at the bar's owner. The tall women flowed around the room in the  
revealing black dress that accented her classic figure.  
  
"I didn't steal it, Kakara," the innkeeper blinked at her in surprise.   
  
"But it's all over that you grabbed the crown. Supposedly they found part of your  
kit at the location, even one of your night hairs on the crown's pillow." The woman sat  
down next to the princess, making the old but clean bed creak.  
  
"Someone is setting me up." Sawa said, looking at her pale hands. "Have you  
heard anything interesting on the street."  
  
"Well rumor has it someone is trying to form a thieves guild, but c'mon you know  
how hard it would be for someone to organize something like that in Sairoon." The  
ex-priestess picked at something between her teeth. "There have also been a couple of  
new faces around the bar lately, toughs, too. Bastards, tried to start a fight two nights  
ago, armed. You know me I don't mind a good brawl but no one tries to shank someone  
in my bar, without my permission, that is, bad for business."  
  
"Any chance you can hook me up with the person trying to start the guild."  
  
"Yah, but not during the day, sometime tonight, better that way for you too,  
lover." She paused, "by the time this day is over, every bounty hunter in the city is going  
to be looking for you, better for you if you turn yourself in and try to straighten this thing  
out that way."  
  
"I would but dad is out adventuring again and its mom's turn to watch the house."   
Sawa paused, "which means, I'm screwed!" She flopped back onto the bed narrowly  
missing the wall and gazed up at the gray ceiling and a spider web. "Crap, well can you  
get me a tool kit and a disguise in the mean time."  
  
"Well love, I hate to bring this up at such a time but you seem a little financially  
strapped, and well business hasn't been that great lately since a pair of my old class  
mates started hanging around preaching to whoever tries to enter the bar. It's rather  
difficult to run a house of ill repute in this city on the best of days. Well that is with out a  
few things going on the side."  
  
"Okay, okay I got you." Sawa reached up into her hair and removed a long  
golden needle. "This is just collateral, you got me. I'll want it back."   
  
Kakara took the needle studied it for a second and then made it disappear into her  
dress. "You know your word is always good here, love." She smiled at the princess.  
  
Sawa sighed again.  
  
"I'll get you the tool kit and.." Downstairs a table turned over and someone  
yelled. "Hold on, don't move." The bar owner ran out the door and down the hall, with  
in seconds she returned. "Bad news love, it's the guard. I guess you got predictable, use  
the high way and meet me in the other place." She ran out the door again as Sawa locked  
the door behind her and then ran to the other side of the room and looked out the  
window. A long laundry line hung too conveniently from the side of the building  
connecting it to the roof of the church across the alleyway.   
  
Sawa grabbed the sash on the room's curtain and used it as a belt to try to hold  
her nightgown from exposing too much to anyone below on the street. Five more  
minutes, just five more minutes and she could have had a chance to change to something  
a little less revealing. She cursed inwardly at the cruel inhumanity of her life.  
  
She pushed the windows open and jumped onto the line balancing precarious on  
the small but sturdy rope. Below her someone yelled and Sawa tried not to blush at the  
thought of the view she was giving those below her as she ran across the rope. She  
lightly jumped onto the roof of the church, in time to see a pair of white mages from the  
guard begin levitating up after her. Not looking back she charged down the roof and  
jumped across the gap between buildings onto the next roof. Behind her the two flying  
mages failed to even slow as they changed direction and charged after her. Before her  
another larger gap loomed, in-between the gap a dozen laundry lines stretched across the  
alleyway full of today's wash. Gathering up one of the lines in her hand, she untied the  
side closest to her and then swung out across the alleyway. In the span of a heartbeat she  
swung across the gap until she collided feet first into the opposite wall. Using what  
remained of the rope she repelled down the side of the far wall. Ten feet from the ground  
she let go of the rope and dropped onto the ground. Not missing a step, she ran out the  
far side of the alleyway and out into her city.  
  
***  
  
Sawa stared down at the ground, listening to the breeze push the large bells in the  
chapel behind her. A pigeon squeaked angrily above her, disturbed by the human daring  
to invade its space. Below her the city continued on its end of day bustle, as the normal  
people who were its life blood went on with their lives never bothering to look up or for  
that matter around them at the beauty that was life. She turned her gaze to the sun slowly  
setting below the mountains. It's light bathing the world with a soft red that was slowly  
changing to darkness.   
  
The princess put her hand up in front of her face blocking out the last little bit of  
the bright orb. The pale hands of a princess slowly turned to the hard gray of stone as the  
sun lost its battle to time and finally finished its daily performance. Sawa sighed and  
flexed her new hand, always amazed that it felt the same even though it was now made  
out of rock. Somewhere out their, her father was regaining his humanity for the night as  
she lost hers.   
  
Sawa ran a hand through her hair carefully fingering her remaining two hairpins  
as they wound inside her sharp gray hair. She wondered again, for the hundredth time, if  
her children would also have this curse. With a sigh, she stood up. It was time to go to  
work. She left her high perch slowly descending down into the city of her birth.  
  
***  
  
The streets were surprisingly empty for so early in the night as Sawa jogged down  
one alleyway and then another, avoiding the main roads. She finally reached the new  
city. The area of Sairoon that had been destroyed by her Aunt Lina a number of years  
ago and then rebuilt as a high-class section of town. In the center of this new city stood a  
little memorial park, an unlikely place for someone on the run to ever meet up with  
anyone.   
  
The princess circled the park once looking for anything out of place, and  
checking her normal exit routes. Caution appeased, she slunk into the park towards the  
small fishing pond. The girl reached the pond, without anyone seeing her and quickly  
climbed one of the nearby trees. Preparing to wait for Kakara, she nestled down in the  
crook of the tree only to see a pair of people move in the shadows to her right.  
  
Sawa blinked trying to focus her eyes correctly to see movement from shadow.   
Another group of two moved to her right. The princess stopped breathing for a second,  
Kakara had sold her out. It must have been her mom, nothing less would have gotten the  
woman to talk.  
  
The girl wished once again that she had her tool kit, before slowly raising her self  
to a crouch on the limb. Time was against her now, even if they hadn't seen where she  
had gone, sooner or later they would figure it out and Sairoon guardsman were some of  
the best trained anywhere.   
  
She saw another team of two approach her from the left, raising the count to three  
groups and leaving her without any time to spare. A third group walked through the  
brush, not bothering to hide their approach towards her. She waited patiently until a pair  
of searchers were directly below her and then she dropped. Three times what she should  
have weighed, suddenly landed on the searchers.   
  
Knees bent, Sawa absorbing the impact and sprinted off, as the two beneath her  
groaned. The girl reached up into her hair and unthreaded her remaining two golden  
hairpins from her sharp hair. One small needle grasped in each hand, she ran away from  
the next group of guards.   
  
Before her darkness loomed, one of the three emergency escape routes she had  
used before in the park. A large drainage pipe connecting to the lake in case of flooding.  
  
Sawa leaped down from the bank and into the pipe running across a thin layer of  
mud and pond scum. She was forced to slow down as the darkness enveloped her,  
leaving her alone in the echoing tunnel. Cautiously, she pushed the needles back into her  
hair afraid that if she tripped, she might lose them in the darkness. Her right hand in  
front of her, the princess felt for obstructions and with her left, she lightly touched the  
wall. Sawa slowly walked down the dark tunnel. Behind her it remained strangely silent,  
with no revealing light. Either they hadn't seen her go in here or were unwilling to  
follow.  
  
After a seemingly endless time filled with darkness, a light appeared in front of  
the girl. A single lamp held at what would be chest level for most people. Sawa once  
again extracted her needles and slowed down even more, walking into the shadows cast  
by the lantern and quietly attempted to move closer to the light. In front of her the light  
shifted, the lantern rocking back and forth. Sawa paused, to the point of almost not  
breathing, hoping that the shadows were effectively cloaking her. The stillness continued  
for a long minute, the slow dripping of water the only sound. Sawa finally moved, her  
slow careful walk on the green algae almost soundless. She finally came close enough  
to see more then the outline of the light, only to notice that their was no one there. She  
paused, listening, when a hard cold metal touched her throat.  
  
"Took you long enough, love." Kakara said, releasing Sawa and handing the girl  
her missing hairpin. Sawa let out a long breath.   
  
"Sephied, you scared me. Damn it, you set me up."  
  
"Sorry love, but your mom had a little leverage on me. Any ways, your too good  
to be caught by some city guards." The innkeeper had changed during the day to a dark  
formfitting set of leathers, a hood covered her hair and a mask rested lightly on her neck.   
The clothing hid most of her light skin, making her almost one with the darkness.  
  
"You owe me." In response Kakara handed Sawa her tool belt. "Okay, you owe  
me a little."  
  
"I also found out where those new toughs are staying, if we hurry we still have  
enough night left to go find out if their the ones that took the crown."  
  
"Lets go then."   
  
"What would you do with out me?"  
  
"I'm still mad at you."  
  
"We can stop off for something to eat and a change of clothes before we go play,  
love." The brunet said smiling at the princess.  
  
"Deal!"  
  
***  
  
An hour later, clean, full, and properly attired Sawa stood on the top of a  
warehouse, watching a single guard across the street. Beside her Kakara studied the  
building with her.  
  
"I only see one room with a light," she told Sawa. "We go in, we see if they have  
the item, or if there appears to be anything suspicious. In either case we let it slip to the  
guard, and a problem is removed."  
  
"Do all of your plans involve telling the guard?"  
  
"For the last time, I'm sorry, love, and this is the best plan. Unless you suddenly  
became a great magician or swordswoman." She paused giving the princess a chance to  
reply. "In that case I want to live through tonight, love."  
  
"Good point, shall we go?" Without waiting for an answer Sawa took off running  
across the roofs circling the street until a high enough ledge allowed her to jump across  
to a building on the other side of the street. She slowed her run, until she was once again,   
quietly moving towards the warehouse the gang had taken up residence in. She finally  
jumped across another small gap and onto the tough's warehouse. The princess slowly  
slid up to a convenient vent. Next to her Kakara, looked inquiringly at her in the  
moonlight as Sawa pulled a screwdriver out of her tool belt and quickly removed the  
screen. Reaching around she removed her backpack and pulled out a thin rope and a  
repelling harness. She passed one end to Kakara who tied it securely to another nearby  
vent as Sawa fastened herself to the harness.  
  
Sawa, rear first, slowly walked to the side of the vent. Her toes, the only thing on  
the ledge, and then with one breath she slowly slid over. The girl descend into the  
darkness until she saw a rafter to stand on, swinging slightly to change her position in the  
air she landed gracefully on the beam. Peering through the dim light she could finally  
get a basic idea of how the warehouse was set up. Below her, boxes and boxes of junk  
filled the room. Off to one side a small office, without a roof was the only lit location.   
Next to the office stood another smaller dark room. Sawa paused studying her  
surroundings as Kakara finally tapped her on the shoulder. Together the two women  
carefully walked along the rafters until they were over the lit office.  
  
Below them two men sat in the office. The pair were rather large, muscular men,  
both in their late twenties or mid thirties and both were armed with long and very  
dangerous looking swords. Neither man talked to the other, one sat in a corner reading a  
newspaper and the other at a desk playing a game of solitaire. Sawa blinked at them  
once and then ignored them as she slowly walked over to see what was in the other room.   
In there the darkness enveloped the room, except for a small light given off by the one  
crate sitting by itself in the center of the room. Behind her, Kakara tapped Sawa and  
pointed at the crate. With nothing better to try the girl grabbed another rope out of her  
backpack and hand over hand climbed down into the empty room. Kakara not a foot  
behind, almost as one they set foot on the ground.  
  
Sawa quietly crept over to the box examining it and the strange glow. Behind her  
Kakara circled around the box until she stood on it's far side. Then in a fluid movement  
the barkeeper raised the box allowing the light leak out. Inside a small stone shone in the  
center of a red cushion. In a fluid movement Kakara grabbed the crystal and put it in her  
pocket.  
  
Sawa frowned at the woman. "Put that back." She whispered to Kakara. The bar  
owner stared at her for a second like she was insane.  
  
"Love, what are you talking about we got the prize, lets go."  
  
Behind her the door opened letting in a crack of light. Sawa tried to turn around  
as someone side stroked her with a sword. The blade bounced off of Sawa skin but the  
momentum flung her across the room and into a wall. For a second, bright lights flashed  
in front of her eyes, and then her vision cleared. In front of her one of the toughs reeled  
back to take a huge swing at Kakara who had been backed into a corner. Without  
thinking Sawa reached into her hair and pulled out one of her pins flinging it as hard as  
she could at the man. The pin flew through the air burying itself into the man's neck.   
Kakara used his distraction to slam the guy's hand grabbing up his sword and flinging it  
with all her might into the other man, the sword went end over end until the hilt crashed  
into the man's head. The man staggered back and fell to the floor. Sawa picked herself  
up from the ground as Kakara moved over to the tough that Sawa had downed. She  
rolled him half over, enough to removed Sawa's dart.   
  
The bar owner looked up from the man and whispered just faintly enough for  
Princess Sawa of the kingdom of Sairoon, the kingdom of white magic, to hear. "He's  
dead, love."  
  
***  
  
Send all complaints to STRIKESTWICE@hotmail.com  
  



	5. Eps 4: Bandits, Fun and Profitable!

  
All characters belong to their perspective owners no ownership is claimed or implied for  
non-original characters.  
  
Special thanks go to Davner, Cavis, Incantrix, the Total Anime Nut, and Fish_Stomp for  
their help on this fic, also thanks to everyone on the #tenchiff for there help with the 17th  
century speech... you'll know what I mean when you get there.  
  
A huge thanks to Sethra_Lavode for the editing. This fic is about three times better then  
previous chapters thanks to her.  
  
Timing Note: This fic takes place as Sawa is having her own little problem in Sairoon.   
Don't worry she will most likely survive.  
  
Twin Perspectives  
  
Chapter 4: Bandits, Fun and Profitable!  
  
By: STRIKESTWICE@hotmail.com  
  
Hi Mom,  
  
Well, we left Sairoon yesterday after a bit of a fiasco. Don't worry, the city is still  
in one piece, well most of it. While we were there I met an odd woman claiming to be  
from the Fire Dragon King. She told me that you were a dragon, and that I was half  
dragon. She definitely had problems, and she was working with a demon, so I doubt  
much of anything she said was the truth, but...   
  
***  
  
Senritsuko looked at the paper for a second before crumpling it into a wad and  
tossed it onto the ground. Sighing, she leaned back against an old oak tree and wondered  
where the twins and Kyoko had gone.   
  
The firelight around the camp wavered and flickered, creating odd patches of  
light and shadows on the leaves of the oak tree. Maybe the best idea was to go back  
home. This was supposed to be a relaxing trip, away from her mother and the suspicious  
eyes of the neighbors. Instead, the trip was turning out to be dangerous and making very  
little sense. She did not really want excitement, she just wanted a normal little life,  
taking care of a large trading syndicate.  
  
She flopped onto her side and gazed out in the darkness, as something moved. A  
pair of eyes, reflecting in the firelight, studied her. Senritsuko scrambled to a standing  
position fumbling for her gun. A large bear lumbered out of the darkness, staring at her.   
Senritsuko pointed the gun, her hands shaking, at the large monster of a beast, hoping  
that it would just go away. Instead, the beast moved towards her. The girl, her normal  
dead-on aim fighting against her fear, fired off a round at the beast, grazing it in the  
shoulder. The bear roared in anger at the attack raging towards Senritsuko. The girl,  
panic stricken, ran out into the forest, the bear giving chase.  
  
She ran for what seemed like hours, the entire time sure that the bear was  
breathing on her neck.  
  
Before her a campfire appeared, with loud voices near it echoing into the night.  
The girl swerved towards the glow, running through darkness into a very welcome  
warmth. Before she knew it, she was in the middle of a circle of people standing around  
a fire. Before her, a large man stood over another man. The man on the ground was  
bleeding heavily from a gash on the side of his chest. He slowly let out his last breath  
and died.  
  
The big man stared at her and then laughed. "So another challenger has dared to  
appear. Fool, you forfeit your life." The man slowly approached Senritsuko, swinging  
the blooded great ax, dragging the corpse for a second before it shook free of the weapon.   
Senritsuko scrambled back away from the large man, only to run into one of the people  
surrounding the fire. The person behind her shoved her back towards the center of the  
circle. Senritsuko slipped on the loose ground and felt the breeze of the large ax whistle  
over her head. She rolled, dodging a kick she never saw and stood back up in a crouch.   
Fed up with the whole matter, Senritsuko pointed her revolver at the large man and fired  
a warning shot.  
  
The large man laughed at her and swung again, forcing Senritsuko to throw  
herself to the left, the ax impacting in dirt. Finally, without any options the girl put a  
round in the man's shoulder, the bruiser failed to even slow his advance whipping his ax  
above his head for a huge downward strike. Senritsuko didn't even pause as she put a  
bullet through the guy's head, and another through his heart. The ax fell from lifeless  
hands, as the man collapsed onto the ground. Senritsuko pulled out one of her speed  
revolvers, refilling it in the blink of an eye. Then she whirled around and trained the gun  
on the people remaining outside the circle.  
  
"All hail the new leader of the Blackberry Bandits..." someone yelled from the  
fire before his voice cut off. "Hey she's not a member."  
  
Senritsuko, thinking fast on her feet, and in a bad position, growled, "Want to  
make something out of it?" as she pointed her gun at the dark shadow who had spoken.   
  
The shadow paused for a second and then pointed at her "You the boss!"  
  
The girl swung her weapon slowly around the circle. "Anyone else want to say  
otherwise?"  
  
The group in the shadows shuffled their feet and shifted waiting for someone else,  
to refute the girl's abrupt takeover of their band of brigands. After a minute had passed,  
Senritsuko finally put down her gun. "Well if there are no further objections, I'll be on  
my way." The girl moved to the edge of the circle only to be blocked by a pair of  
lumbering hulks.  
  
"Um, excuse me? I'm in a little bit of a hurry."   
  
"You boss now, you lead us to money." The bigger one on the right said.  
  
"Right, but first I have to take care of a small matter."  
  
"Old boss have plan, you have plan too?" The slightly smaller one, but still over  
six and a half feet said, grinning gap toothed at her.  
  
"Hmm... a plan, well why don't we go rob who ever shows up on the road  
tomorrow." Senritsuko said thinking as quickly as possible and coming up with a good  
plan to run the bandits into the much more evil twins.  
  
"Thy's plan is the plan of a child." A smaller female dressed in leather armor  
said stepping out of the darkness.  
  
"You challenging me?" Senritsuko said patting her gun. The woman blanched  
and shook her head. Senritsuko just smiled and sat down on a nearby boulder.  
  
***  
  
"...the mana constant is then divided, using the second principle of... " The white  
robed priestess paused, listening attentively to the darkness. "Did you two just hear a gun  
shot?"  
  
Valeck looked at her oddly, "I didn't hear anything."   
  
"She... he's... s'allin'." Yuki said, glancing at the ground and the large burn mark  
they had created over the last hour of random destruction in an attempt to master the  
spell of spells, the Dragon Slave.  
  
"It's about time we quit any ways, before Senritsuko comes looking for us."   
Kyoko said, turning back towards camp.  
  
"You worr' to mu'h." Yuki looked up from the scorch mark and at the sky. "I  
gu'ss you' righ' though it's time to go." Glancing once at her brother, the girl turned  
back towards the camp site and started briskly walking, letting everyone else hurry to  
catch up to her.  
  
The two shrugged before they hurried to catch up to her. The three created a  
ruckus as they moved through the forest, until they finally saw the comforting light of the  
campfire.  
  
They arrived to find what looked like a disaster. Their equipment was scattered  
around the camp. Large prints imprinted in the ground along with blood, but not in a  
large enough concentration to suggest that any one was dead.  
  
"Crap!" Yuki yelled, as she searched the campsite. Valeck grabbed up a burning  
brand from the fire and charged off in the direction of the tracks. The two following him  
into the darkness.  
  
Two hours later the party stumbled back into at the campsite.  
  
"No one said I could track." Valeck yelled, softly.  
  
"We'll fin' her to'orrow at firs' ligh'." Yuki said, comforting her brother.  
  
"But she could be dying somewhere, a meal for a dragon, or she could be slowly  
bleeding to death trapped in a tree as a cougar waits patiently at the base, or she could  
have been captured by a band of bandits." Kyoko paused for breath as Yuki snorted.  
  
"Yah, bandits, that could happen." Yuki said sarcastically. "Senritsuko can take  
care of herself."  
  
"Sure, it's not like last week." Kyoko said, matching Yuki's tone of voice  
perfectly.  
  
"The sun will be up in four hours we'll find her then." Valeck yelled out as they  
huddled around the fire waiting.  
  
***  
  
Senritsuko looked down at the ground from her perch, wondering just exactly  
how she had ended up like this.  
  
  
She hadn't slept a wink last night, afraid that one of the bandits would decide that  
removing her would be easiest with a quick dagger in the throat. Through bleary eyes  
she watched the sun rise slowly in the east, painfully making its way above the  
surrounding hills. The leather clad woman, another weirdo with a strange accent, sat  
down next to her at the fire as around her the majority of the camp still slept on.  
  
The woman began to heat a pot of mystery food that had been laying forgotten by  
the side of the forest. Senritsuko looked inquiringly into the pot the woman was stirring  
to see a home-made stew of unrecognizable meat, vegetables, and broth. Possibly a  
combination of the previous few days' food, dumped into the broth to create a potential  
food source. The woman beside her stirred it again and then took a sip. She grimaced a  
little and tossed in a handful of salt.  
  
"I didn't catch your name last night."  
  
The girl turned and glared at her and went back to stirring the goo. Senritsuko  
shrugged. "Well, do you have any tea?"  
  
The girl grabbed a nearby, not too clean bowl and dished out a large helping of  
the slop, then passed it to Senritsuko. She took the bowl and carefully pushed it to the  
side, the smell made her nauseous. "Thanks."  
  
"So I take it you're not a morning person." Senritsuko yawned, and rubbed herself  
in an unlady like location. "I can understand that. Someday, I feel like killing everyone  
on my block and then burring their bodies in the cellar." The leather-wearing woman  
scooted away from her slightly. "You're no fun."   
  
She stood up and wandered over to the still sleeping bandits, giving each one of  
them a swift kick, trying to awaken the bunch of thugs, losers, and desperadoes. The  
bandits grumbled but awoke, wandering around the camp in a confused collection,  
mumbling and groaning. After a few minutes the gang had eaten the stew until nothing  
remained, and then looked enquiringly at Senritsuko.  
  
The girl finally had a chance to look at her band of rogues. Last night she could  
have sworn that there were at least two dozen of the smelly men in the dark surrounding  
her. In the bright sun it turned out to be a total of six. There were the two huge morons,  
who had thrust her into leadership last night. A smaller man with a wicked knife and a  
nasty grin. The woman in leather who was still ignoring her. And finally two nondescript  
bandits whose faces were covered with scars and looked surprisingly disposable in their  
bright red shirts.  
  
At a loss for a better plan, Senritsuko sighed and said, "Well let's go watch the  
road."  
  
  
Which was how she'd ended up in that tree in the first place, watching the most  
boring road of all time. After the first hour she began wishing that someone would come  
down the road to be robbed. By the second hour she was hoping for anything alive. And  
by the third hour she was calmly snoring when the woman in leather nudged her awake.  
  
Walking slowly down the road were a priestess, who was being escorted by an  
outrageously dressed man in armor, and a small woman fingering a dagger. The three  
seemed to be searching the sides of the road for signs of something.   
  
Senritsuko sighed. She motioned to the two big guys to notch their bows, while  
she pushed the girl in leather out of the tree. The irritated woman fell a good ten feet  
before landing on her rear. She stood up and dusted herself off, sending Senritsuko an  
evil glare, as the twins and the priestess stopped walking and gazed at the woman who  
had just tumbled out of a tree. The woman in leather waved a fist in Senritsuko's general  
direction before planting her feet on the road and yelling, "Halt, thou art surrounded by  
the heinous Blackberry Gang. Know that thy life's thread shall continue unsnipp'd only if  
thou cooperates."  
  
Above her, Senritsuko put her hands over her mouth trying to stop from laughing.   
The "Blackberry Gang," what a completely non-ominous name for a gang. She would  
have to change that if she was still in charge of the gang come this evening. Below her  
the twins had agreed with her assessment and were breaking out in laughter as well.  
  
"Girl, don't you know who we are?" Valeck said, taking a pose as his sister  
sighed. "We're the Gabriev Twins and this young lady is the Priestess Kyoko, master of  
the Dragon Slave! Your poorly named band is no match for us."  
  
The girl in leather blinked once in confusion and then looked up to where  
Senritsuko stood hidden in the trees. "Ye canst not cause me to fear, our leader is  
stronger then ye!" The girl pointed up at Senritsuko, who moved deeper into the greenery.  
"Know that thou are surrounded, throw thy valuables on the ground!"  
  
"You hav' got to be kiddin' me." As Yuki grabbed for her dagger, a shot rang  
out, missing her ear by an inch, and burying itself in the tree behind.. The girl slowly  
moved her hand away from the dagger and smiled politely. "Just who is your leader?"   
She asked through clenched teeth.  
  
"It is I, Tomoe, the bandit queen!" Senritsuko yelled as she danced smoothly out  
onto the limb of the large tree, exposing herself to the twins for the first time. "Now  
hand thy valuables over to the fair lass or be skewered by yon arrows and my bonny gun."   
  
Yuki cursed and then tackled her brother and the priestess throwing them into the  
brush before Senritsuko could hope to get a shot off with any accuracy. To her left one  
of the bruisers let loose an arrow after them. One of the two girls gave a high-pitched  
scream of terror, before it became deathly silent in the forest.  
  
Senritsuko jumped down from the limb and ran across to where the twins and the  
priestess had disappeared. Behind her, only a breath away, the leather clad woman  
charged. She ducked into the woods and felt a hand reach around her throat dragging her  
through the brush. Senritsuko let herself be pulled. Next to her she saw Yuki force the  
other woman by dagger point into the darkness with them. Seconds later, the pair of  
bruisers and the red shirts ran into the brush and kept on going, failing to notice the fact  
that they were no longer in that direction.  
  
The twins finally pulled them into a clearing. Valeck pulled the revolver out of  
Senritsuko's holster and jammed it down his pants, dropping her in a heap on the ground  
next to the woman in leather.  
  
"Ok, Tome, if that is you' 'eal nam', ho' much of a re'ard is their on your he'd."  
  
"We can drop the act now. What the hell took you guys so long to find me." The  
girl said, standing up "Damn it, I thought you two were supposed to be protecting me."  
  
"You shot at me!" Yuki yelled, and grabbed up the girl, lifting her six inches off  
the ground. "You shot at me!" Yuki repeated, slowly growling at Senritsuko as she pulled  
the "bandit leader" within an inch of her face. The fact that Yuki was four inches taller  
and had the body of a well-developed twenty year old, compared to Senritsuko's  
appearance of being only a girl at the beginning of puberty, helped her. Senritsuko just  
stared into the other girl's eyes until her arms finally grew tired. Yuki dropped Senritsuko  
back onto the ground.  
  
Senritsuko paused for a second, and then looked at the leather-clad woman and  
then back to the twins and .Kyoko. "Let's get out of here."  
  
"Thou wouldst leave? I knew thou wert not trustworthy," the woman in leather  
said, as she pushed away from Valeck and stood up. Kyoko blinked at her in surprise.  
  
"You actually speak like that? I thought it was just a joke," The priestess said,  
playing with her long hair.  
  
"So you all mock me. But then what should I expect from ones such as you."  
  
"Hey, wait a minute, you're the bandit." Valeck said. Senritsuko tapped him and  
pointed at her revolver. Sheepishly the big man handed it back. She carefully checked  
the weapon, then fluidly pushed it back into its holster.  
  
"Let's just go," the dark haired girl said, shifting her holster slightly.  
  
"No, thou cannot leave, thou art the boss, thou must remain!" The woman in  
leather latched an arm onto Senritsuko and started to drag her back in the direction they  
had come from.  
  
Senritsuko turned and faced the odd woman, irritation plain on her face. "Listen  
lady, up till two minutes ago you wouldn't have given me the time of day. Now you want  
me to be the boss! What gives?"  
  
"Thou art soo cute."  
  
"Bye." As Senritsuko turned to go, the girl wrapped her in a bear hug, leather  
crushing against her back, and held a small knife to her neck.  
  
"Senritsuko," Kyoko screamed, taking a step back in fear.   
  
"Thou shalt all retreat, thy girl is leaving with me!" she yelled, dragging  
Senritsuko towards the brush. The gunwoman, having gathered her wits enough to think,  
yanked her gun out of its sheath and shot her captor in the foot.  
  
Everyone paused as the echoes of the shot faded. Then the woman started to  
scream hysterically, as she fell to the ground and cradled her injured foot. Senritsuko  
took the chance to give the woman a kick in her gut.   
  
"Senritsuko! How could you?" Kyoko scolded, the priestess ran over to the  
woman and began trying to calm her down. "Shh... now relax so I can treat your wound."  
  
Senritsuko gave the priestess an exasperated look. "Kyoko, she'll survive. Leave  
her, we need to get out of here before we're forced to fight the rest of the bandits."  
  
"I can't leave someone who's injured." The priestess replied. The twins exchanged  
a glance, then went to opposite sides of the clearing and took cover. The white robed  
priestess gently removed the leather-clad woman's boots until the wound was exposed.  
Blood slowly oozed from the wound. The damage traveled through the entire foot with  
both a small entrance wound and a much larger exit wound.  
  
"Heal," the priestess sang out, her magic knitting tendons and bones. Blood  
slowly dissipated from the edges of the wound, her patient's flesh being transformed into  
live cells once more. In just a few minutes, the wound and the surrounding blood were  
gone, and clean clear skin was all that remained. The priestess sighed and leaned back on  
her heels.   
  
The woman beside her hiccuped once and stared around numbly. The pain  
disappeared in seconds. She stumbled back, then stood up quickly. Senritsuko fondled  
the hilt of her gun with her left hand, nothing overt, since she drew with her right, but  
still making sure the other woman knew that she was ready for any attack.   
  
"Thou art a great boss. Lady Senritsuko, please continue to lead us. I apologize for  
my hasty actions and the distress I have caused you. My name is Elizabeth El Betan,  
Boss. I need your help in a most difficult matter."  
  
Behind her, since no trouble had appeared, and now their battle group was back to  
full power, Yuki and Valeck drifted away from the sides of the clearing. Yuki glared a  
little at Senritsuko. "You shot her!"  
  
"Well I didn't shoot you," Senrisuko pointed out. The girl left the "yet" said only  
in her eyes. Kyoko slowly stood as well, her mind trying to figure out how Senritsuko  
could have changed so much in the few years they had been apart. Kyoko turned her eyes  
to the girl and gave her the look. The hairs on the back of Senritsuko's neck stood up and  
she paused, confused. There was something wrong with her today, wasn't there? Then  
she suddenly got angry. Who was this girl who kept telling her what to do? She felt her  
right hand itching slowly across her body towards the revolver.  
  
"...ady, I beg you please help me." Help... of course she had to help someone in  
need. Senritsuko groaned and grabbed her head, a raging headache suddenly filling her  
being. She dropped to her knees, wide-eyed in pain, before falling to the ground face  
first.  
  
***  
  
Senritsuko awakened in a dark place. In the center of the room a fire flickered in  
time with her heartbeat. To her right sat herself, and to her left sat herself. She paused,  
finding it harder to understand why there was more than one of another one of her. For  
some reason she and herself made sense in a dream, but three of her, that was odd.  
  
The one on the right swam into focus as the one of the left drifted into darkness.   
She stared at herself, as herself stared back. The girl blinked at her a slow lazy blink, and  
then smiled politely offering her some tea.  
  
The other one to her left was suddenly in sharp detail. She grinned, lopsidedly  
and offered Senritsuko some tea. Senritsuko sat with her one cup of tea, she looked  
down into the cup and stared at it watching the gold and black swirl together around the  
tea leaf. Black and gold swirling together and then suddenly the mixture of colors were  
suddenly divided into two cups. One cup of gold and one cup of black.  
  
***  
  
The black haired girl awoke with redness swimming before her eyes. Night had  
settled around her while she was asleep, deep and desultory. She looked up at the full  
moon, spots of red drifting in front of it, and wondered what was wrong with her. She  
blinked once again and banished the red. She finally realized that this wasn't a dream and  
decided to go back to sleep. The ground that she laid on was nice and comfortable and  
warm.  
  
"Boss, thou art awake." Senritsuko growled and closed her eyes, hoping the  
woman would go away. Or if she was lucky be struck by lightning. No such luck, the girl  
began shaking her. Senritsuko finally gave into the inevitable and sat up. The world  
swam for a second in front of her eyes before settling down and remaining solid. She  
blinked twice, removing the red haze away from her eyes once again.   
  
"Boss, art thou okay?" the odd woman asked as she crouched down next to  
Senritsuko. The girl hurriedly fell back, fumbling with her right hand towards her holster,  
and came up empty. She backpedaled until she fell onto her rear, then jumped up, and  
took a step backwards, only to run into Kyoko.   
  
The priestess steadied Senritsuko. "While you were asleep we agreed to help the  
nice woman you shot, so please act civilized." Yuki jumped out of a nearby tree and  
nodded her agreement with the priestess.  
  
"Why?! What could have made you agree with something so insane?" the girl  
yelled. She forced her voice to calm down. "I would appreciate getting to Sairoon as soon  
as possible because..." She paused and then brightly smiled at Yuki, " of personal  
reasons."  
  
"Boss the time taken for this endeavor is but a trifle. Thou shalt have no worries  
concerning thy time taken from thee."  
  
"Do you even listen to what comes out of your mouth?"   
  
"Senritsuko, be pol'te." Yuki scolded the girl. "This is an ea'y job."  
  
"It's simple. You just pass the cloak of leadership down to Elizabeth, and we  
leave," Kyoko told her as she played once again with her long hair. "After all you don't  
want be a bandit queen," she tilted her head to the side, "do you?"  
  
Senritsuko groaned. For the hundredth time she wondered who this woman was.   
Every so often she felt for just a second like she knew her. The woman obviously seemed  
to think that she knew Senritsuko. She swallowed once and walked to the edge of the  
clearing. Then she turned on her heel and stared at the twins, a nagging suspicion filling  
her mind.  
  
"So what are you getting out of this deal?"  
  
"We get to know that we did a good deed. We help someone accomplish her goal.  
We bring a dying man's dream to fruition." Kyoko said, smiling, then paused and blinked  
for a second as the twins stared at her. "And we get our pick of the bandits' treasure."  
  
"Treasure, who said anything about treasure? Wait a minute if I'm the boss of the  
bandits that means it's my treasure!" Senritsuko eyed the other people in the clearing  
suspiciously.  
  
"Boss, then thou shalt help me."  
  
"I didn't say that." Senritsuko said, still suspicious.  
  
"Thou hast a kind heart." Elizabeth told the smaller girl.  
  
"I feel like I just bought a bridge."  
  
***  
  
Senritsuko went back to cleaning her revolver, trying to pay very little attention to  
the bandits around her. What type of plan was just to act normal? They were setting her  
up, they had to be setting her up, she just didn't know exactly how. To her right Elizabeth  
shifted and quaffed down another tankard of ale, as she quickly became smashed. Beside  
her, Yuki refilled both their mugs before going into another randy verse of "The Lady  
was a Dragon."  
  
The gun woman groaned at the choice of songs for the fourth time and went back  
to her final cleaning. The orihalcon almost glowed in the dim light from the light coat of  
oil she had applied to it. Senritsuko spun the chamber listening to it slide smoothly, a  
near perfect sound, as far as she was concerned. Carefully she loaded the six chambers  
and then reaching down and emptied out one of the speed loaders and slid the cold blue  
bullet into one of the chambers before securing the speed loader back onto her waist next  
to the other one full of normal rounds.  
  
She paused, and then unloaded her weapon again, before disassembling it.   
Things had gone too well earlier and she felt on edge. Nothing for the last two weeks of  
her life had gone well. Now here she was, giving up leadership of a bandit gang to the  
former leader's daughter without a hitch. She saw an imagined spot of dust and cleaned  
it.  
  
A week ago Elizabeth's father had been killed, according to the girl. Killed by a  
dagger through the heart while he was sleeping. Senritsuko shuddered a little at the  
thought, thankful that she hadn't slept last night. Even worse, that meant whoever killed  
the last boss would have to kill her tonight, or risk having their target in permanent  
absence, leaving them at best second if they killed Elizabeth.  
  
She inspected her weapon again, wishing that it was dirty, then looked at the  
ground with a sigh. Senritsuko reassembled her weapon. She knew that she was being  
used as a goat stacked out to attract the dragon. A damn decoy and it was all the twins'  
fault, and that damned priestess. With a practiced flourish, she pushed the gun back into  
its holster and stood up.  
  
Shs slowly walked around the camp, almost tripping over Valeck, who was  
passed out. Around her the majority of the bandits slept soundly without a worry. She  
gazed at each one, trying to figure out which was the killer. She grumbled again to  
herself. This was a personal matter, why was she involved? There had to be someone she  
could blame. Behind her Yuki slumped down onto the ground, finally passing out from  
the ale and leaving the camp in blessed peace. She suppressed a thought to go over there  
and kick the girl, and realized that she wasn't going to sleep a wink all night, again. She  
glanced over at Elizabeth, the only person still awake and realized she would rather talk  
to the bear. That's whose fault it was, the bear's! She leaped up and took off into the  
woods, off to find that damned bear.  
  
About ten minutes later she realized that she was still afraid of bears, and she had  
no idea where the hell she was. On the other hand no one was trying to kill her here. She  
located a glade enveloped in moonlight and plopped down on a stump to look at the stars.  
Above her the Dragon's teeth twinkled faintly in the dark, pointing the direction to the  
navigator's star. Where the hell was she supposed to go now? What did it matter as long  
as she had a journey. She leaned up against part of the stump and gathered her cloak  
around her. In her mind she wandered through a dozen different possible futures and  
slowly dozed off.  
  
As the stars slowly spiraled above her, listening inattentively to her breathing, a  
shadow left the tree line and slowly walked across the clearing. With careful shuffling  
steps, well practiced to create the least sound, it crept towards her sleeping form. Without  
a sound he pulled the blade from its oiled sheath, and fell to the ground dead. A young  
priest, his eyes closed and carrying a large staff, looked down at the corpse, and opened  
his eyes for a second. He stared oddly at the girl sleeping there, confusion on his face. He  
finally disappeared in the darkness, as if he had never been.  
  
The next morning, Senritsuko woke up with first light, cold and aching from the  
odd position. In the early light as she stretched out her kinks. The road next to the bandit  
camp easily visible from where she'd spent the night. The twins waved merrily to her  
from the road, already ready to go. The bandit camp sat fifty feet to her left.  
  
Senritsuko turned in the opposite direction, in search of a bear.  
  
  



End file.
